The life of an Adventurer
by Audidriver007
Summary: He wanted to become an Adventurer and be known as the Hero that saved the world from an evil so great that the Gods had sent him to save the day. Instead, Kazuma spends his time wondering if the Gods will send someone to save him. Parallel cannon events with different outcomes. Rated T for language and a certain Crusader's behavior.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own Konosuba

* * *

Chapter: 1

"Explosion!"

The loud shout was followed by an absurdly powerful blast that sent shockwaves throughout the surrounding forest as fire engulfed the abandoned castle. The smoke cleared away soon after thanks to a sudden gust of wind, revealing the shattered walls and broken towers that littered the area surrounding the building from being subjected to constant explosion spells.

"Eh, that wasn't half bad, but I couldn't really feel the heat from that one like I could yesterday's." Kazuma said after taking the time to evaluate the damage and results. This was the fourth week he and Megumin had been coming to this abandoned structure so she could unleash her powerful magic without raising the ire of the local guards. "But it did have a nice shockwave that made my heart temporarily stop. I'll give it a 70."

"Only?" Megumin's muffled voice groaned with her face buried in the soft ground after collapsing from using her magic. "I know one of those towers fell after that blast! That should add at least another 10 points!"

"Well…" the impromptu leader of the worst party ever known in this world glanced back towards the structure with critical eyes. The aforementioned tower was still intact, albeit barely, but it was close to falling over. In fact, the gentlest breeze could have easily…

Another gust of wind came by, causing the mentioned tower to slowly tip over, until it could no longer support itself. Stone blocks slid out of place or were crushed as half of the massive tower fell over, crashing into another tower in the process sending the two structures careening off the cliff in a landslide like way.

Kazuma whistled, truly impressed by follow-up destruction. "Alright, I'll admit that that was awesome. Today's explosion gets a 90!"

"20 bonus points!" Megumin exclaimed as she lifted her head to see what could have possibly elicited that kind of increase. The extra rubble on the bottom of the cliff brought a large grin to the young Arch wizard's face. "Hehehe, good explosion."

"Good explosion," Kazuma agreed, kneeling down to roll the girl onto her back. "Ready to go home, or to you want to admire the results for a little longer?"

Megumin thought about, and nodded her head once a decision was made. "Can you help me sit up? That last blast took a lot out of me; I don't really want to move right now."

"Sure," he did so, noticing with a frown that the girl was starting to fidget with a blush on her cheeks. "Are you sure you're ok?"

"Uhm… well…" Megumin didn't need to answer as a loud gurgle echoed across the clearing, originating from the now beat-red girl. "Did you bring anything to eat?"

Kazuma barely suppressed the amused snort that would surely earn him a slap from the girl, and reached into his pouch to pull half of a rice ball out. "Don't eat it too fast, you'll get sick."

"I don't need you to tell me that!" The girl exclaimed once again, but making no move to grab the food.

"Megumin?"

"I uh… I can't move my arms right now." Megumin admitted.

"…Do you want me to feed you?" Kazuma asked with a deadpan look. She turned an even darker shade red while nodding her head, refusing to say it out loud. He gave an exasperated sigh. It took a couple minutes to find a good way to do it – Megumin wouldn't stop fidgeting in his grip, but eventually she settled down enough for him to support her back with one arm while feeding her with the other.

"Would you quit moving?" He yelled, getting very tired of the girl's uncooperative attitude.

"This is embarrassing!" Megumin responded with equal volume. "Do you know how – mmph!"

Kazuma had taken the moment to shove the last of the food into her mouth. "There," he quickly moved her onto his back, and began the long trek home with a silently fuming Arch-wizard on his back.

"That was mean Kazuma." Megumin muttered after swallowing. Nevertheless, she leaned in and rested her chin on his right shoulder. "You shouldn't shove things into my mouth like that, I could choke."

"Don't say it like that! I already get enough glares from the women adventurers thanks to you and Chris!" He noticed the sudden sparkle from the corner of his eyes, and turned his head just enough for Megumin's face to come to view. What he saw sent chills down his spine.

That gleam, that same _damn_ gleam that showed up before the girl shouted to everyone nearby that he subjected both members of his party to erotic acts involving the slime from frogs was back on her face.

"Is that so?" The all-to-innocent sounding question was followed by a menacing chuckle that would be a lot more sinister if she wasn't at his mercy right now. A fact he only now just realized.

"Say anything to anyone about that, and I'll drop you off in-front of the frogs and wait for them to swallow you before I kill it."

That wiped the smirk off her face instantly, replacing it with a disgusted shudder. "No, please! I promise I'll be good from now on! Don't bring me back to the frogs! Anything but the frogs!" Megumin wrapped her legs around his body while her arms gripped his neck in a choke-like grip, earning a strangled gasp from the older teen.

 _Too tight! Too tight!_ Kazuma screamed internally, struggling desperately to loosen the grip around his neck while savoring every ounce of oxygen he could suck in. "Alright! No frogs!" He choked out.

Relief coursed through the girl's body, allowing Kazuma to pry her hands away. _Note to self, never mention frogs when Megumin's on my back._

"Thank you," she whispered gratefully, wiping away the dampness in her eyes.

Kazuma in the meantime was sucking in air desperately. "Don't mention it, ever."

He continued to carry the girl in silence with the only sound being heard was the occasional bird call. Despite the calm atmosphere that surrounded them, Megumin's thoughts were anything but.

 _We've been at this for a whole month so far and Kazuma has been showing a growing appreciation for explosion magic._ She sent a quick glance towards his face, turning away just as quickly so he wouldn't notice _. Kazuma's stats should be enough for him to learn the skill, although, he probably doesn't have nearly enough skill points to acquire it yet. I'll ask him about it later,_ Megumin decided, before making herself more comfortable on his back.

Kazuma's thoughts, however, were much simpler. _Explosion… explosion… maybe I should come up with a better point system focusing more on the initial shockwave and volume instead of the total damage done. I don't think the castle can take to many more blasts._

"Ne, Kazuma…"

"Huh?" Kazuma blinked, and tilted his head back a little to bring Megumin into view. "What's up?"

"We should go out and celebrate tonight."

"Celebrate what exactly?"

"A whole month of explosions on that abandoned castle!" Megumin pumped her fist into the air following the declaration.

He shook his head, but couldn't stop the smile from forming. "You're the only person I know that would consider celebrating something like that."

"But it's the first time this has ever happened!" Megumin leaned forward even more, and pressed her cheek against his while holding an arm in-front of them. "We'll call it 'Kazuma and Megumin's explosive one-month anniversary!'"

 _Too close! Does this girl not understand the concept of personal space?_ "First of all…" Kazuma started, moving the girl back to her original spot, "people will get the wrong idea if you call it that. Second, do you know anyplace we could celebrate other than the guild?"

"…No." Megumin replied, her eagerness deflating a little.

"Besides, what about Aqua and Darkness? They'll probably want to join us."

"They left for a mission this morning; Aqua said it would take all day to finish."

There was a pause. "What mission?!" Kazuma yelled, startling the nearby birds away.

"I don't really know," the Arch-Wizard shrugged, "Aqua mentioned it was some kind of exorcism mission, and Darkness volunteered to go with to keep her safe.

 _That means she'll be trying to take every attack thrown their way,_ Kazuma figured with a shake of his head. He was barely able to repress a sigh at the thought of Darkness spouting out some nonsense to justify all the hits she would be taking.

"Do you know anyplace we could go?" Megumin asked, bringing his attention back to the conversation.

He shook his head in response. "There was never any reason to eat anywhere other than the guild." _Is there really any other place we can afford to eat?_ He had an idea. "How about we eat at the guild like normal then go out to do something else after?"

"Alright," Megumin agreed, having no better idea herself.

"Damn it!" A voice roared from underneath the rubble created from Megumin's latest explosion. The massive cobblestone blocks shook violently as purple energy began to emit from the miniscule openings, and were soon after blown away, leaving a hole in its place.

"Every. Single. Day!" An armored hand reached up from within the hole to grip the edge of another stone, and with a grunt of effort, the headless knight Verdia Dullahen hauled himself out. "Over and over and OVER!" Another pulse of energy emitted from the General, blowing away the top layer of debris surrounding him.

"What kind of cowardly wretch would attack my castle with explosion magic without actually challenging me in person?" His voice screeched at the last few words – a clear indicator at how annoyed he was. "No matter," he continued, gazing in the direction of the beginner's town, Axel, "I will deal with them soon enough, and put a stop to whoever is doing this."

"Although… this whole situation wouldn't be so bad if Wiz was here with me," Verdia gave a perverted giggle at the thought of the well-endowed lich. "Oh, if only I could get another peak up her-"

Something made a noise above the headless knight. "Huh?" He looked up, and his one visible eye widened at the sight of more rubble falling down. "KYAH," he screamed, before being buried once again.

"Did you hear something?" Kazuma asked, pausing at the top of the hill – that was overlooking the city – to turn back to the forest.

"No, it was probably the wind."

"Yeah," he agreed after a moment, turning back to finish the last leg of the return trip, "it was probably the wind.

KO - NO - SU - BA!

"Aqua, are you sure this is the correct path?" Darkness looked around the area she and the Goddess were traveling – a simple dirt path through the forest – and frowned when she once again saw no monsters or spirits anywhere. "I was expecting to be assaulted my multiple enemies at this point." Her cheeks flared with heat as the last thought brought about all sorts of fantasies for the Crusader.

"This has to be it." Aqua insisted, looking over the quest sheet for the umpteenth time. She read every line of information with such intensity that Darkness briefly entertained the idea that it would start on fire. "This doesn't make any sense! The area should be littered with small time spirits just waiting to be exorcized by an Arch-Priest, such as myself."

"Do you think they only come out at a certain time?"

Aqua bit the corner of her lower lip. While it didn't explicitly state that they would… "I suppose it's a possibility."

Darkness opened her mouth to further question her companion, but the sound of distant thunder quickly gained her attention. "A storm? Do you think it will hit us?"

"It better not…" Aqua muttered bitterly. _I swear, if this is your doing Eris then we are going to have a_ very _long conversation when I get back._

The two of them came across an empty clearing that seemed to act as a dead end since there was no other path besides the one they were just on. Trees and grass swayed back and forth from a strong wind while in the center of the area was a dirt ring – roughly ten feet in diameter – that was outlined by several small rocks.

"Perhaps the spirits are here?" Darkness watched in fascination as lightning struck the area within the dirt ring multiple times over the course of a few seconds.

"Maybe we should leave," Aqua suggested, having a very bad feeling about what was about to happen.

Sure enough, multiple skeletal hands broke through the ground, revealing themselves to be undead warriors as they pulled themselves completely out of the mass grave to confront the trespassers.

"Okay, we should definitely…" Aqua made a move to dash back down the path they just came from, only to find another group of undead marching from it. "Alright, no big deal, if we run out into the forest I'm sure they'll…" several more of the monsters emerged from the tree line, effectively trapping the two party members. "Well… at least it can't get any worse."

The sky boomed once again, and a single drop of rain was all the Goddess needed in order to predict the absolute downpour that would follow.

She began to cry.

* * *

Megumin let out a satisfied breath of air as she sat down on a tree stump that rested near the stables they were staying at. She had just finished placing her cape, hat, and eye patch on the drying rack – which was nothing more than two sticks holding up either her staff or Aqua's – depending on who was using it – and was now waiting for her friend to finish up whatever he needed to get done. After some time passed, she began to hum a simple tune while watching the sunset with a small smile.

"You ready to go?"

Her smile widened. "My gear is still drying, but I can go one night without them."

"You sure?" Kazuma asked, glancing towards the mentioned articles of clothing. "We could wait a little longer if you want."

"It's fine, it's fine, don't worry about it." Megumin stood up, and grabbed his arm before attempting to drag him along. "Now come on, I want to get there before it gets too crowded!"

 _Too crowded?_ "Alright, I get it, no need to worry. It's not like we ever need to worry about getting a seat anyway." A clap of thunder caught Kazuma's attention, causing the young adventurer to look in that general direction where he saw large thunderclouds hovering just outside the city. "Looks like a pretty nasty storm."

Megumin looked as well. "Wow…" she breathed watching a bolt of lightning streak across and through the clouds like a serpent which was then followed up by boom of thunder. Even from this distance the two of them could feel the sound waves reverberate through their bones. "Oh well," she dismissed it with a wave of her hand, "it's not going this way anyway, so we'll be fine."

A stray thought brought another question out of Kazuma's mouth. "How long did you say Aqua and Darkness would be gone?"

"They said it would be all day," Megumin replied, refusing to let up on her iron-like grip – much to Kazuma's exasperation. "Why?"

"Just curious is all."

KONOSUBA!

"Turn undead! Turn undead! Turn undead!" Aqua repeatedly called out in a panic induced rush as she was chased around the clearing by a horde of ghoulish warriors. The Holy spells were only interrupted by the occasional frightened scream as the Goddess narrowly avoided the lightning that struck the ground around her.

Within the center of the clearing, surrounded by a loose ring of skeletal warriors, stood Darkness who was completely drenched from the intense downpour of rain. Her armor was still intact but with noticeable cracks and dents on it. Her breath was visible in the form of steam, matching the woman's quick and shallow exhales. The sword in her hands shook violently in what the monsters though was fear.

They were wrong to assume that.

"It's just as I thought…" Darkness started with red cheeks and glazed eyes, "you soldiers have been deprived of physical stimulation for so long that you are planning on using me – a Crusader, you're natural opposite – for satisfaction, and to shame me in the process!"

The fighters looked amongst themselves, momentarily thrown off by her accusations.

"Uhm, we're not actually…" one of the soldiers's muttered, but was cut off by Darkness.

"If you think it will be easy then just try to take me on!" She threw her sword to the side, and held her arms to the side in a strange welcoming gesture. "Well…" Darkness insisted when none of them made a move. "Just try it!"

"Sacred turn undead!"

A large, magical circle formed around the monsters with Darkness as its focal point, and within the second, it erupted as a pillar of Holy light that traveled upward into the sky, piercing through the storm clouds quite easily. Once the light died down, the Crusader found herself alone within the natural spotlight that was quickly being covered by the clouds.

"That…" the Arch-priest sucked in some much needed oxygen after utilizing her lungs for such an extended period of time. "That was scary."

"This was a bit more… extreme than what I imagined it would be." Darkness semi-agreed, attempting to hide her disappointment by sheathing her sword. "At least it is over."

Had Kazuma been there, he would have screamed at the masochist Crusader for triggering a flag.

The ground suddenly shook beneath their feet, causing the two of them to stumble in place as a large, armored hand came out a short distance away, scattering large amounts of debris over the field. They watched on – one in fear the other in dranged excitement – as a creature covered head-to-toe in thick armor slowly emerged from the ground to stand over them like a giant would to an ant. To match its imposing stature was a massive broadsword with bits of the blade's edge missing, giving it a serrated look.

It hefted the blade up and swung it the side as a display of strength, shattering the earth by its feet while the nearby trees in that direction struggled to stay rooted as the displaced air threatened to topple them down. Once that was done, the massive monster raised the blade to rest it on its shoulders, apparently waiting for them to make the first move.

Aqua's face paled considerably, and she let out an earsplitting scream before turning on the spot to run away.

Darkness, however, stood her ground with the blush from earlier returning tenfold. "I am a Crusader! I will not back down from any creature, even if it costs me my innocence!" The idea was enough to make her quiver.

The monster tilted its head it the side, visibly confused by Darkness' statement. Why did she phrase it like _that_? Was she expecting it to _do_ something to her?

But whatever fantasy was being thought up in the woman's head was shattered as Aqua came back – still screaming – to stand by her friend. "Nature's beauty!" The Goddess cried out, sending a small, pitifully small, stream of water into the monster's already drenched helmet.

It waited for her to do something else.

Aqua didn't need any more prompting, so she turned back around, grabbed Darkness' shirt, and ran away with the protesting Crusader in tow, leaving behind a giant standing alone under the dark clouds.

And despite its skull being completely devoid of a brain, it was still able to have one conscious thought.

 _Did I really wake up for this?_

* * *

"We'll see you guys tomorrow!" Kazuma called out to the cheering guild members as he and Megumin walked out the door. He breathed out a relieved sigh once the doors were closed. "Boy, they were in a good mood today."

Megumin hummed agreement, before looking up at the night sky. "I wonder if it's still open…"

Although it was nothing more than a whisper, Kazuma was skill able to catch part of it. "What was that?"

"Oh, uhm… Before we do anything else, could we go to the Mage shop nearby?"

"I guess," he shrugged, "but I don't know where it is."

"I do!" Taking his hand in her own, Megumin began running down the streets with her stumbling ally in tow.

They passed inns, houses, shops, other pedestrians, wagons filled with various kinds of products, and fellow adventurers as Megumin expertly lead the two of them through the city. It was another few minutes before the Arch-wizard finally stopped in-front of a building with a simple wooden sign hanging on the edge of its roof. A basic staff was engraved on it to indicate the shop's specified trade.

"Here it is," Megumin said with a light pink dusting her cheeks from the small exertion. She turned to send him another smile.

Kazuma felt heat creeping up his neck as he looked away, suddenly feeling uncomfortable. It didn't help that she was still holding his hand. "What exactly did you need here," he asked while gently prying her hand off.

Her smile faltered for a moment, until it settled. "I ordered a book a while ago and it should be here by now."

They opened the door, only for the magical charm above them to play a pleasant tune as it shot out a pink spark that traveled to the backroom. There was a startled shout, and an old lady walked through the door way a moment later, garbed in what Kazuma assumed was standard mage gear, muttering a few choice words while rubbing the side of her face.

Her gaze fell upon them, and she offered a warm smile while stepping behind the counter. "Hello, how can I help you two today?"

Megumin wasted no time to step forward to bring up her order. Kazuma, however, began walking around the store, making a mental list of items he could use once his goal of becoming a semi-proficient mage came to pass. Last was row upon row of staffs that instantly grabbed his attention, figuring that one of them could occupy his other hand.

They varied from being simple looking wooden sticks with a basic crystal loosely connected to the end, to metal ones that looked capable of dealing physical damage, and past them were a few seemingly made of solid gold with jewels adorning their head while magical runes ran along the entire length of the object.

He evaluated each one that caught his eye: testing their weight, checking what magical properties were given, how much it cost, and other such factors. None of them appeared to fit what he wanted, so he would place them back, and move onto the next one to repeat the process over and over, until his eyes landed on the last two on the row.

Both were a solid black with one appearing to be very basic – it didn't even have a crystal on the end – while the other one continued to form a ring as big as his head with five, evenly spaced magical gems on it. The simple one did have five orbs lined up next to it, each one glowed red, blue, yellow, green, or brown respectively while a unique rune shined brightly within each one.

"I see these two caught your interest."

Kazuma almost jumped in surprise from hearing the voice behind him. "Huh?" He turned around to see the old lady stepping up next to him with an expectant look on her face. "Oh, I…"

"These two are meant to be used by someone who doesn't specialize in any single field of magic. In fact…" the woman continued with a knowing look on her face, "they are best used by people who haven't specialized in the mage class and simply wished to use magic with whatever job they chose."

"Really?" Kazuma asked, becoming more excited with each explanation.

"Yes, you see," she pointed to each gem on the ring-staff and explained its purpose. "The red one enhances fire-based spells and those belonging to the detonation class. Blue is used with water spells – that includes ones that involve ice – and recovery magic works as well… I think.

"You think?"

"Lightning spells and abilities are used by the yellow gem along with a few support spells. Brown works especially well on earth magic, I can't really remember if barrier spells applied to that area or not though."

"Isn't that something you should know?!"

"And finally, this green one enhances wind magic, and if you learn them, speed spells as well."

"Speed spells?" Kazuma questioned despite having a pretty good idea given the name.

"To be honest, those type of spells fall under the Support section of magic, but there are quite a few of them, enough that I think it should have its own field. However, I'll show you the one that makes it worthwhile!" She gestured for him to step back which he did so. A white glow surrounded her just as she called out "Speed!"

The shop owner then left the next instant; the only indicator that it wasn't a teleportation was the gust of wind that followed, rattling the staffs around him.

 _Where did she…?_ Kazuma briefly wondered, just as the old lady reappeared with a cup of tea now in hand.

"Ah…that hit the spot. Any who," the cup was carelessly tossed aside, "What were we talking about again?"

"The staffs! You got distracted by speed magic!" _Just how bad is her memory?_

"Right, right…how far did I get?"

 _Apparently very bad, it might even be worse than Aqua's._ "…You finished explaining what the gems did for that staff, but what about that one?"

"Phew, I was worried that I would have to explain it again."

 _Again?! You just asked me how far the explanation got!_

"This one in a sense applies the same concept of the previous staff, but with a bit more… flair too it." She grabbed the staff in question, waiting briefly to build up some form of suspense – of which Kazuma felt none – before tapping one of the five runes that Kazuma was now able to see.

The green orb suddenly floated up, and launched itself towards the top end, and to the adventurers amazement, it melted into the staff where a green energy flowed down it as more of the orb was absorbed into it. Black turned to green as the energy continued down the item while silver markings – that shaped themselves to look like wind – formed along its sides. Halfway through the absorption, the energy had reached the bottom, and then began to extend further as a silver, pointed end. When that finished, the remaining green substance reshaped itself into a rectangular gem – not unlike an emerald.

"Wow…"

The old lady herself looked impressed as she beheld the magical item. "How did this get in my hand?"

 _Something is seriously wrong with this shop owner._ Kazuma frowned. _It's like her memory has been getting worse ever since we came in._ "Are you alright?"

Her eyes went wide, and she turned towards him with a questioning look. "I'm sorry, do I know you?"

Just then, the magical chime sent out another pink bolt, striking the old woman in the head where the energy arced across her face. It dispersed a moment later, and she suddenly looked a lot more focused. "Oh dear, looks like this old thing needs to be charged again,"

"Uh…"

"Oh!" She looked up to offer an apologetic look. "I'm so sorry about that, but in my old age, my memory has begun to fail me, so I had this rune made to help." A small, flat rock was pulled from an inside pocket, it was presented to the Adventurer, allowing Kazuma to see a very dim glow on it.

"Then what about that door chime?" Kazuma asked, pointing to the small object in question.

"It's just a backup," the old lady replied, before changing the subject. "Now, while my explanation may have been a little vague about this staff's abilities, it does explain all you really need to know about it." There was a brief flash of light, and suddenly the staff was back to its original form with the green orb floating behind the woman. "Each orb offers a unique transformation. Course, most people usually focus on the other staffs, paying no attention to these ones since they look so plain."

"I know the feeling…"

"Hmm…" She looked at him with piercing eyes that made Kazuma feel slightly uncomfortable. "Are you still an Adventurer?"

Surprised by the strange question, Kazuma merely nodded.

"Were you planning on choosing the Mage class?"

"Eh, I don't know, my party already has three people in the advance field, and I've already learned a few skills from multiple areas." He scratched the back of his head, feeling a sense of frustration at being unable to pick a single class to focus on. "But magic _is_ something that fascinates me."

"Then these two staffs would be perfect for you," the old lady decided with a sharp nod. "The one with the ring will be good to use now while the other one should be saved until you've learned some advance magic."

"Well…" Kazuma hesitated, checking the price for both of them. "I could buy that ring one now, but income isn't really stable enough for me to risk it."

"That's a shame." She set the other staff back, before suddenly coming up with an idea. "What if I reserved it for you? That way, you'd be able to buy it whenever you felt that money wasn't a problem anymore."

"You'd do that?"

"Of course, like I said, people don't really pay attention to it anyway. Now that we have that taken care of, why don't you grab your friend and head out. I'm worried she'll finish that book of hers if we talk any longer."

Kazuma blinked, and turned around to see that Megumin was indeed almost halfway through a red, leather bound book. "Right… Hey Megumin, we're heading out now."

"Ok," the Arch wizard marked the page she was on, and walked over with an absolutely breath taking smile. "Thanks for coming here with me, Kazuma."

Said Adventurer immediately turned around to head out the store in an attempt to hide the blush that was trying to make itself known. "D-don't worry about, besides, we still need to come up with something else to do." _What is wrong with me today?_

"Right…but now that I think about it, the Beginner's town only has cheap houses, a few inns, a relatively simple market section, and the guild hall. People usually don't use their money on anything besides food, lodging, and gear in this area, so there's no real demand for entertainment areas."

"Great," Kazuma groaned as he realized just why everyone gathered at the Adventurers guild every day. _Ok, we're in a town with no known way to keep its occupants busy other than work, two of our party members are doing a quest – which I'm still pissed Aqua didn't tell me about – and we live stables with the only outstanding feature being that nearby lake I found…wait a minute._ "Want to go stargazing?"

* * *

"What do you mean I didn't complete the quest?!" Aqua demanded as she shook poor Luna – the guild's receptionist – while Darkness stood by, attempting to calm the irate Goddess down.

The two had returned to the guild soaked, covered in twigs and leaves, were exhausted from the day's endeavors – Aqua especially since she dragged the Crusader almost the entire way back – and now they were told that all of that work was for nothing.

"I-I'm sorry," Luna apologized, "but the monsters you needed to take care of were simple animal spirits. The monsters you fought are usually taken care of by the stronger adventurers for experience."

Aqua let her go, vaguely registering that her arms fell to the side while she looked nowhere in particular with a blank look. "All of that work…and we didn't even fight the right monsters…"

"While it isn't really a quest, I could offer you a free meal for the effort."

"Thank you. We'll gladly accept that after a bath, right, Aqua?" Darkness waited for her friend to responds, but the water Goddess only muttered incoherently in response. "Right, so we will be back later."

With some effort, Darkness was able to move Aqua away towards the bath house.

* * *

"This is nice."

Kazuma remained silent, but couldn't deny that he was enjoying himself as well. This world wasn't affected by light pollution to the extent Japan was, and out at the outer edge of the town – where the stables that they slept in resided – it was almost nonexistent. Near those stables was a lake, it was there, on one of its many hills, that Kazuma and Megumin watched the sky as the countless number of stars illuminated the area. Adding onto the wonder was the lake itself, without any form of disturbance, it acted like a large mirror, reflecting every star it could.

"How do you know about this spot?"

"…It was during the first week Aqua and I were here." Kazuma replied after figuring out how to properly explain it. "We were doing construction work at the time. "We've never lived in stables before, so it was a trial-and-error situation as we slowly figured out how to maintain the area."

He heard Megumin moving, and he turned around to see if she was still listening. She had merely rolled onto her side to focus completely on him.

"So…" he continued after refocusing on the sky. "One night, I wasn't able to sleep because of the horse crap next to my head. It was bad enough that I decided to walk around the area to clear my head." His nose scrunched up in disgust at the memory. "After that, I followed the stream all the way down, and that's the how this lake was found."

"…That's pretty boring."

Kazuma whipped his head around to retort, but whatever he was about to say died on his lips at the sight of Megumin's eyes slowly closing, with her face taking on a dazed look.

"You want to head back?"

She nodded, stifling a yawn but making no move to get up.

"Want me to carry you?"

Another nod.

"Alright," he had done the task so many times now that it took almost no time at all to move the Arch wizard into place, and start walking back to the stables.

"This was nice." Megumin said once again, with a noticeable slur. Her head was soon resting comfortably against his shoulder.

The young Adventurer gently tapped the side of his head against hers, silently trying to convey his agreement without re-awaking the girl. Soon enough, he felt her breathing slow as sleep took over. So, with the starry lake behind him, an Arch wizard resting comfortably on his back, and hopefully a good night's sleep ahead, Kazuma decided then and there that maybe – just maybe – this good-for-nothing world wasn't as good-for-nothing as he thought.

* * *

And that's a wrap to Chapter 1. Thank you to everyone who decided to click on this story and read all the way through. It's an absolute crime that there isn't anymore stories for this section, so I decided to add mine to the list.

In terms of updates, I can't promise anything. I will try my best to keep a regular update schedule, but if all else fails, know that this story will not be abandoned.

Anyway, I hope you have a wonderful day, and I'll see you in Chapter 2.


	2. Chapter 2

So, feel kinda stupid for not mentioning this earlier, but this chapter and chapter 1 take place during episode 4's Explosion montage. Just in case you all didn't already figure that out.

I was able to write out this chapter during my spring break, but with school back in session it might be a bit longer before the next one's out.

Any who, enjoy!

* * *

Chapter: 2

She finally did it.

Kazuma was seated on one of the many tables within the Adventurer's guild hall, choosing to ignore the wailing Goddess across from him in favor of examining his adventurer's card. Shining a bright orange was the skill known intimately by his Arch wizard friend; Explosion magic.

He discovered it yesterday, shortly after returning from the abandoned castle with Megumin chatting amiably about her newest book – explaining the origin of Explosion magic. She didn't know about it, and he wasn't sure what to do about it. Explosion magic was something he wanted to learn, but the high skill point cost effectively prevented that from happening anytime soon.

It would have been all too easy to simply erase the skill from his card and ask Megumin to teach it again at a later date, but for some reason, Kazuma felt like it would be an act of betrayal to do so. After all, he did say it would be a fun skill to have.

 _Damn it,_ Kazuma silently cursed, stowing away his card, _why did she have to ask me that with a normal, genuine smile. This would have been easily to deal with if she did it similar to the first time I asked!_

He sighed, running both hands down his face while letting out a weary groan. _I think sleeping in the stables is slowly wearing me out._ Another wail from Aqua brought a glare to his face. _And she's only making this worse!_ "Would you stop crying, it's really starting to annoy me."

Of course, that only made the crying worse.

"Good morning Kazuma."

The twin greetings made him turn around, and he saw both Darkness and Megumin approaching their table with questioning looks aimed towards the Arch priest.

"Morning," he half heartedly replied. "Where have you two been?"

"I went out to look at some armor." Darkness said, watching him join their sides before redirecting her gaze back to Aqua. "Nothing really caught my eye."

"Ah… Why were you looking at armor, isn't yours suppose to be incredibly strong or something?"

"I would not be surprised if it was, but as a Crusader, I must always be on the look for stronger gear so that I may be a better wall for my allies to use."

And just like that, Kazuma had to suppress a groan at the sight of his party member once again demonstrating her masochist tendencies. "What about you?"

Megumin looked up at him from the corner of her eyes, and offered a careless shrug. "Reading."

Kazuma blinked, that… that was a rather simple – not to mention normal – answer. "Didn't you already finish that book?"

"Yeah, but it was so good that I started it again. Apparently Explosion magic wasn't developed it be used as an attack, the original wizard who made it meant it to be used as a scare tactic."

"Really? I guess it would be pretty scary to see an explosion of that scale, but it seems to use a lot of mana to be nothing more than a scare tactic."

"That's because the Explosion magic I'm using is different than what it originally was." Megumin paused to look back at Aqua – who had let out a particularly loud cry with the tears to match – while Darkness stepped away, saying she was getting something to drink. "The creator described it to be nothing more than a loud boom with a strong shockwave to match. Therefore, any creature nearby would runaway, fearing to go up against something that could make that much noise."

"So wait," Kazuma narrowed his eyes, finding himself enjoying the impromptu lesson, "it was really used to scare animals away? Then why is it so powerful now?"

"That's because the creator began experimenting with using different incantations to change the spells properties. Multiple accounts from nearby towns describe the following months as 'the worst time to be alive in that area.'"

Kazuma opened his mouth to say something, only to hesitate when he didn't hear Aqua's crying. _Did she stop?_ He turned towards the Arch priest, and saw that she was still in-fact crying. _Must have zoned her out._ "What exactly made it so bad?"

"Apparently," Megumin started, fully turning to him while now giving off the air of an instructor, "anytime an elemental incantation was used would result in a natural disaster-like event. One village reported a blizzard during the summer that lasted for an entire week. Another one said they experienced an earthquake that split the entire town into two separate places. It was during these experiments that the original creator began to realize just how powerful the spell could be if given the correct incantation."

"He didn't realize that after the first test?" Kazuma questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh he did," she replied quickly, appearing to be repressing a snicker, "he just didn't like that those people were so noisy. But as to how it became the Explosion magic I know and love is when a modified blast incantation was used."

"Huh, cool. So what – OW!" Kazuma held the side of his head, having just been hit with a mug thrown by his blue-haired ally. "Damn it you useless Goddess, why the hell did you throw that at me?!"

Of course that only made it even worse as Aqua started throwing back her own insults – which sounded more like ones a child would scream.

With a sigh he tenderly touched the area of impact, wincing at what felt like a nasty bruise already forming. _Why did she have to throw a mug of all things?_

"That looks pretty bad." Megumin commented, reaching up to poke the spot as it slowly turned a dark purple. "Well? Does it hurt? Does it? Does it?" She repeatedly asked, touching it at the end of each question. "Eh? Eh? Well?"

"Stop touching it damn it!" Kazuma screamed, grabbing her hand to do the same to her face. "Does. It. Hurt. When. I. Do. This?! Huh? Huh?! HUH?!"

"Owowowow stop it! Stop it this instant!"

Darkness sat over at the bar with an empty mug by her side, now simply watching the scene play out while trying to repress the laughter that was beginning to make her shoulders shake.

"You punks sure know how to liven up every morning!" A voice boomed next to her.

She jumped a little, turning around just in time to see a man with a mohawk take the seat next to her. "Oh, I'm sorry. would you like me to stop them?"

"Now where would be the fun in that?" He laughed at what he thought must have been a pretty good joke.

Not wishing to be rude, Darkness joined him with a much more subdued chuckle. Once she got a better look, she was able to recognize him as the man who usually talked with Kazuma whenever she, Aqua, and Megumin were busy. "I'm sorry, but I don't actually know your name."

Instead of looking offended, he actually laughed even louder than before. "Why would you, I've never introduced myself to you." He gestured to himself with his thumb. "The name's Arakuremono! Considering this is our first real introduction… WELCOME TO THE GATES OF HELL!"

"Umm… I… Err…" Darkness stuttered truly at a loss for words at the enthusiastic – not to mention odd – greeting from the man.

"You're a Crusader, right?"

"O-oh! I am."

"I see," Arakuremonon nodded, losing the semi-maniacal look from a second ago. "In that case, if you're ever looking to learn a few techniques for your class, just let me know. I may not be a Crusader myself, but there are plenty of people I've met over the years who owe me a few favors."

"That's…" Darkness blinked, "an awfully generous offer for a stranger."

"HA, stranger? All those who join this guild are a friend of mine! Now, speaking of friends, you should talk to yours before they start an all out bar-fight."

Darkness looked towards her party, and saw a very interesting scene. Megumin had somehow latched onto Kazuma's back – her hat and eye patch now missing from her person – viciously pulling on his cheeks and hair while screaming something she wasn't quite able to understand from this distance. Kazuma – who had the Arch wizard's eye patch on now – was yelling out in pain with one hand trying to fight off Megumin's attacks while the other was holding Aqua back. Said Arch priest now wore her friend's hat as she violently clawed their leader's arm – still yelling out child-like insults.

"H-hey! Don't fight without me!" The Crusader called out with a deranged smile slowly forming on her red face.

Kazuma was the only one to notice her coming towards them, and futilely yelled "Don't!" to stop her, but she was not dissuaded in the slightest, and continued to charge into the group of three, knocking them over onto another groups table. The impact flipped the table over, causing the food and drink to fly all over the place, and unfortunately land on a young mage girl. She began to cry, and her party members stood up with glares aimed at members of the table Kazuma's group flipped.

"Oi, what's the big idea throwing your food like that!" A man clad head-to-toe in heavy armor demanded.

"We didn't throw it dumbass!"

"Would you all stop yelling?! I've got a massive hangover from last night's party."

"What are you going to do if they don't?"

And the situation continued to escalate, until an all-out brawl started with every guild member, and staff member fighting amongst themselves. Darkness looked like she was having the time of her life, jumping in-between every brawl to take the hits being thrown. Aqua was running around the place, casting Nature's Beauty relentlessly – for what reason even she probably didn't know. Kazuma and Megumin were still fighting each other, their battle dissolving into nothing more than the two of them rolling on the floor.

"Stop pulling – OW – my hair!" Kazuma demanded as he pulled on Megumin's cheeks.

"You're the one who won't get off me you pervert!" The Arch wizard countered with red cheeks – though that might have been from the abuse they were going through.

"Because you won't let go, damn it! He ignored the fact that he was indeed on-top of her after they stopped rolling around in favor of moving one of his hands to give her a nuggy.

Megumin cried out in pain, and decided to counter by pulling one of his ears roughly.

All the while, Arakuremono was laughing his ass off, having stepped behind the bar to refill his drink and watch the spectacle.

Simple elementary spells were fired off occasionally, only causing greater chaos as the basic Tinder spell would light some poor souls hair on fire while Create Water made a few people slip and slide into another batch of Adventurers who would, depending on their class, either prematurely fire a spell in a random direction or pick up the person to throw them as a weapon.

Tables and barstools shattered against either a wall or on a person as the battle continued to escalate for several long minutes with Luna standing behind the register with a horrified look, her head calculating the amount of property damage being accumulated within the short period of time since the fight started. "Not the good ale!" She pointlessly warned, watching a group pick up a particularly large barrel and throw it into another group who had been charging towards them.

Outside, the people of the town watched in trepidation as basic spells and furniture broke through the windows and various parts of the ceiling. Occasionally stepping aside as an adventurer was blasted out the building to crash near them.

"What do you think is going on in there?"

"Do you think some monster got in there?"

"Seems like it would have to be pretty powerful to cause this much trouble."

The minutes turned into an hour, and the sounds of battle turned into pained groans mixed with the demand for a hard drink. Inside the building, the ground was littered with debris consisting of burning splinters, broken pieces of armor, scattered weapons, shattered dishware, and an unconscious body or eight.

"Ow…" Megumin pitifully moaned. She and Kazuma sat on the only two remaining chairs left intact, and with no table to rest on, she settled for leaning against her friend with her head resting on his shoulder. The Arch wizard's clothes made it through mostly intact with nothing more than a small tear here-and-there. Her body however, was covered with scratches and bruises with her hair now completely frazzled from the exertion.

Kazuma was even worse off with his small cape being completely torn to shreds, one of his boots was missing, and his right eye was swollen shut after receiving a brutal attack from another fighter. "… Let's not do that again." The Adventurer decided which Megumin vigorously nodded in agreement.

"Ah… that was wonderful."

The leader glanced towards Darkness with a blank look, noting that she was missing most of her armor now with the clothes underneath having large pieces of them torn off.

"Darkness… never – EVER – do that again." Kazuma ordered, knowing full well she would still do it regardless. Something landed on top of his head, and he quickly recognized it as Megumin's hat. "Huh, how did that get there?"

"You… look… weird with that on," Megumin mumbled with half-lidded eyes.

"So do you," he leaned his head against hers, feeling completely exhausted from the whole ordeal.

"Can you carry me back to the stables? I want to go to sleep now."

"It's not even noon you know." Kazuma replied, already in motion to do as requested. He briefly wondered where Aqua was after she disappeared about half-way through the fight, but shrugged it off without hesitation. _She's a big girl; she can take care of herself._ He didn't really believe that, but Aqua did have a way of making it out of a terrible situation. The duo left the guild quietly – so much so that no one would even notice they were gone until Darkness recovered from her daze.

Unbeknownst to the three allies, Aqua was resting peacefully behind the bar counter with a steady stream of alcohol pouring into her mouth from a small hole made during the battle.

Back outside, Kazuma felt a small amount of amusement after noticing the wary looks people were sending towards the messed up guild hall. He pointed out the fact to Megumin, but the Arch wizard merely mumbled a reply to which he chuckled.

* * *

Verdia sat still… waiting… _experiencing_ silence that was almost forgotten by the knight. He breathed in – despite not needing too – to disturb the silence. There wasn't any other way to describe how the dullahan felt other than peaceful.

"I feel rewarded…" Verdia whispered, though, it sounded much louder due to the endless echo the vast castle created. "Perhaps my patience has paid off, and whoever was attacking my domain has learned better."

With a snap of his fingers, an undead minion came forth with a chalice filled with a thick, red liquid. The monster presented the item with a deep bow.

"It seems only fitting," Verdia continued as he placed his disembodied head back where it once resided so long ago, "that I should enjoy something that has been saved for decades. True, this was originally supposed to be used once the Demon King ruled all, but somehow, this seems more appropriate."

"In celebration!" The dullahan proclaimed for the entire castle of monsters to hear to which their cheered for reasons they were incapable of understanding. "For the silence I have awaited forever since we moved to this accursed castle!"

The General allowed himself a moment to relish the feeling, and slowly brought the chalice to his lips…

"Explosion!"

…Only to have the entire foundation itself shake while a wave of fire and sound blasted through the throne room with an intensity that immediately evaporated the red liquid from the chalice while simultaneously melting said object. Verdia was subsequently thrown off the stone throne – which also shattered from the shockwave originating so close by.

There was silence once again once the worse of the explosion dissipated, but that too didn't last as Verdia roared out in pure rage.

"That's _it_!" A dark aura surrounded him, displaying how little control the General had over his emotions. "I will personally go to that town, and find out who… is… what was that?" He looked up. Verdia's shoulders sagged when he saw the ceiling beginning to collapse.

"Oh no…"

* * *

Kazuma, with his hand on his chin, nodded in satisfaction after evaluating the latest display of Explosion magic from his friend. "I'm a little surprised how intense the shockwave felt especially considering how exhausted you were beforehand, and even from this far I felt heat that rivaled a summers day." He watched with critical eyes as the central part of the structure collapsed in on itself. _Yep, figured it wouldn't last much longer._ "Looks like we'll need to find something else for you to unleash your magic on, that thing's completely destroyed."

The only response he received was the sound of light snoring.

 _Huh, looks like she's completely worn out from the day._ Kazuma rolled his eyes in mock annoyance. "Explosion magic may be cool and everything, but I still don't get why you _only_ want to use that one type of magic. It would make more sense to learn some advanced magic, level up, then learn that skill when you'll be able to use it without falling flat immediately after."

 _Guess it doesn't really matter,_ Kazuma continued silently, feeling stupid for talking to himself basically. _Besides, who the hell am I to judge someone, I was just a shut-in NEET before dying of shock._

Oh how he hated thinking of his old life in Japan. It was the only thing that could ruin his mood faster than having to deal with his party members antics. His lips twitched downward. _Snap out of it! That's all behind you! I'm in a fantasy world that acts almost exactly like a video game. It's a dream come true for someone like me!_

Kazuma slapped his cheeks for good measure, before preparing himself to pick up the young Arch Wizard. Something that did brighten his mood was that repeatedly carrying the girl back was slowly increasing his strength stat. It was usually no more than one or two points a day, but doing so for more than a month was beginning to prove itself very useful.

 _Wait a minute. Is that why Megumin reads all the time? To increase her intelligence so her mana would also increase as well?_ The thought made him pause while his face looked as if a grand revelation was revealed to him. _Is Darkness' masochist nature actually helping her become a stronger Crusader? Taking all the hits – if my theory is somehow correct – could explain why her endurance and HP is so ridiculously high._

 _Does that mean I could raise Aqua's intelligence if she read a couple of books?_ He thought about it for a moment before shaking his head. _No, Aqua wouldn't sit still long enough._

"Fancy meeting you here!"

Startled from his thoughts, Kazuma looked around briefly, until he noticed something odd shimmering in-front of him. Looking closer made him realize it was someone using Lurk, and he quickly recognized the voice. "Hey Chris."

Pleased laughter emitted from the mostly cloaked figure, until the ability was ended, allowing Kazuma to see the smiling face of the thief who taught him his first abilities.

"Looks like someone needs to work on their Detection skill, you didn't realize I was here until I said something."

"Isn't that skill meant for locating enemies though?" Kazuma asked, glancing back at his 'luggage' when she started moving. "You awake Megumin?" When all he got was incoherent murmurs, he shrugged and turned back to Chris.

"At its beginning state, but did you really think skills couldn't grow with their user?" Her smile widened at the adorable sight in-front of her. _Glad to see they take care of each other._ "Haven't you noticed your skills becoming more effective lately?"

"Are you serious?!" Kazuma immediately clamped up when he felt Megumin shift again while letting out a noise that conveyed annoyance. "Are you serious?" He tried again in a much more sedated volume.

Chris placed a hand over her mouth to muffle a snicker. "You're telling me no one's ever told you that?"

 _No! No one's ever told me that!_ "Is there some kind of instruction manual for this stuff?"

"Well… not exactly, no, but usually adventurers receive a booklet detailing skill upgrades and abilities once they chose a specific class and venture out to another city." Chris walked over to stand next to him, and the two of them continued back to the town side-by-side. "By the way, what class did you choose?" she gave him a sly look, "I bet it was Thief after realizing how effective those skills were. I'm right, aren't I?"

"A-actually… I'm still just an Adventurer…"

The silence that followed was extremely embarrassing for Kazuma as he watched the Thief's face scrunch up in confusion. "You're joking. You're joking, right? …You're not joking."

"…No,"

Her face was blank. It was a sight that worried him greatly. Soon enough though, her lips began twitching up, and her shoulders began to shake.

 _Oh boy…_

"HAHAHAHA," Chris was forced to clutch her sides as the laughter echoed far into the forest. "T-t-that's hilarious – Haha – why – Hahaha – are you still an Adventurer? That's the weakest class there is!"

The urge to strangle the laughing Thief was strong, but he didn't for two reasons: one, she would more than likely be able to escape his clutches _if_ he could catch her in the first place, and two, he would have to drop Megumin in the process.

"Seriously though," Chris began, wiping away a stray tear, "why are you still an Adventurer? You could be a great Mage with your intelligence, and both a Merchant and a Thief would utilize that high luck of yours."

 _Well at least one person recognizes my talent._ "My party is just too imbalanced for me to choose a specific title yet. Besides, Adventurers can learn every skill, and I really want to try a couple things before I pick."

"That's… odd, but I guess I understand. By the way, what happened to your eye?"

"Oh," he was a little surprised it took her this long to ask about the black eye, "the guild got into a huge fight earlier."

"Aw…" Chris pouted in response. "I can't believe I missed that. All those coin pouches just waiting to be snatched."

"Anyway," Kazuma interrupted her daydream to return the conversation back to the original topic. "How exactly do my skills improve?"

"Huh? Oh that's simple. Pull out your card." Chris waited for him to do so. "Now go ahead and tap on the skill section – not the actual skills, but the section itself."

It was a bit difficult for him to do so, but lucky for him, even in while asleep, Megumin was able to wrap her legs around him while tightening the grip around his shoulders to better support herself, allowing Kazuma to use both arms to do as Chris instructed.

"Now you should have the list of known skills displayed on the card, right?" She watched him nod. "Good, tap on the Detection skill."

He once again did as instructed and watched as the magical item in his hand shifted the image once more to display the selected skill in the top corner with four partially filled bars below it. Just above each bar was a short description of that bar's requirement followed by what it would improve if completed.

"Oh!"

"Not all skills have that though – most basic skills are like that – however, the higher tiered ones usually have multiple ways to be improved. Those usually require you to be in the same class as the skill itself to receive the maximum bonus though."

"So, what you're telling me is…?"

Chris sighed, but decided to explain it instead of waiting for him to figure it out. "Adventurers can learn any and every skill, but forgo ever mastering anything in the process."

"A Jack of all trades but a master of none," Kazuma whispered, feeling a sense of horrified understanding welling up.

"Yep! After all…" she turned to give him a wink, "why would a Thief ever need to know Create Water?"

KO-NO-SU-BA!

 _Thump. Thump. Thump._

The steady noise sounded almost like a heartbeat as a massive Earth Golem lumbered through a narrow canyon. Patches of grass and moss grew on various parts of its body, and atop its head was a small tree with bright, purple fruit growing on it. The monster's height allowed its head to peak just above the canyon's top, giving it the perfect view of the small warrior running alongside it.

 **"We are approaching the fortress, young warrior. I will be able to break through its barrier so long that you keep the minions from getting in my way. I am counting on you to guard me."** The creature said, its deep voice shaking the very ground around it. **"At any point, should you need healing, simply climb atop my head and eat one of the fruits. Your health and stamina should recover instantly."**

"Got it," the warrior's cape was in constant motion as he continued to run far faster than any human should have been capable of – it rivaled the speed of a sprinting horse. On his right hip was where his sword resided in its sheath, but even while sheathed, the red glow emitting from it was bright enough for the golem to see. "You know you can call me by my name, right?"

" **Names mean nothing to one who was born from the land itself."** His reply made the warrior roll his eyes. **"Earth, dirt, ground, they are all the same yet hold different names, so I to would have many names if just one was given. Title's are unique – many may share one, but they are used to describe the individual."**

"So you want me to just call you Golem?" His question held enough mirth to make the creature turn to look at him.

" **If you must call me something…"**

"Man, you really need to lighten up."

The golem turned its head to face forward once more. **"I am made of solid rock, it is impossible for me to do as you requested."**

"… It was just an expression."

" **We are exiting the canyon now. Forces on the ground will be the first issue that needs to be taken care of – their numbers equal that of a small army. Creatures of flight will appear once the barrier has been damage; that is your indicator that it is almost time to invade the fortress. I will leave once that has been done."**

"Thank you, I doubt getting this far could have been possible without your help."

It took but a moment longer for the warrior to reach the edge of the canyon just as the golem walked through the opening. He leapt forward, and the red glow grew even brighter as the warrior approached the ground. With an impressive display of endurance, he slammed into the ground feet first – the ground shattered and caved-in around him – before taking off even faster than before.

A dust trail was left in his wake as the golem's footsteps effect on the ground receded slightly as he outpaced the creature. And just as it informed, a horde of monsters, ranging from small goblin-like creatures to demonic bulls that were about as big as a house, were waiting for the two of them. Beyond them stood a steel fortress with a dark storm cloud hovering over it – a bolt of lightning occasionally struck one of the many protruding spikes all around the structure, giving it a typical 'evil fortress' type of look.

"Here we go!"

The bright red sword was pulled out of its sheath, its glow was almost blinding to the nearby monsters as the warrior descended upon the horde. It became quickly apparent that the speed that he ran was not the only thing accelerated as the swings of his blade were almost too fast for anything to clearly see.

Half of the army was wiped out within the first five minutes.

The rest of the monsters got the picture of how unmatched they were, and quickly began to flee just as the earth golem reached his location.

" **I see your title of Swordmaster was not misplaced."** It complimented, continuing forward until it stopped a fair distance away from the target structure. **"To finish off so many enemies – even if they were incredible weak – is impressive. I will be sure to uphold my part now."**

It raised one of its massive arms, and brought it down on the seemingly open space in-front of them, only for the solid mass of stone to impact with the barrier mentioned from earlier. The impact revealed the rest of the barrier that surrounded the fortress as a series of magical circles and runes that flowed around each other as if they were separate streams.

Again and again the golem slammed its full weight into a single point of impact, and slowly, the warrior watched as cracks began to grow and spread. And like the creature said before, bird-like monsters began flying towards them in a swarming fashion.

" **Climb atop my shoulders, warrior, I have no doubt they will try to distract me from my task."**

"I can see that!" He crouched down, and with enough strength to once again shatter the earth around him, he leapt up over half of the creature's height. The rest of the distance was covered by using the convenient patches of grass and moss as grab points. "Don't worry. I'll take care of them!"

This battle proved to be much more difficult for the warrior as the monsters were both faster and more agile then the ground units. On top of that, he couldn't fully utilize the speed enhancement as the area available to move was far too little, and there were times he almost ran off the golem on accident. But as a Swordmaster, he was still capable of fending off the creatures while his ally continued to breakdown the barrier.

Eventually, to the warrior's relief, the barrier shattered after a final strike; the creature's bellow holding just as much power.

"Thank you Golem-san, I will not forget what you've done for me."

" **Nor will I. Tread carefully though, the foes within that fortress are far stronger than what you've just faced, and their leader is even more powerful. I wish you luck, Mitsurugi Kyouya."** With that, the golem turned around to head back the way it came.

The now named hero jumped off just as his ally fully turned around, his eyes – displaying nothing but confidence and an iron will – were completely focused on the structure that held one of the Demon Lord's Generals.

Verdia Dullahan.

 _Of all the foes I have faced since I came to this world, this will be the toughest yet._ Kyouya turned his gaze upwards, and prayed to the Goddess who allowed him this second chance at life. _Aqua-sama, I hope you are watching, for I am about to take the first major step in defeating the Demon Lord. Thank you… Thank you for providing me with the means to do such a task._

Gram was held with an iron-like grip as Kyouya felt his resolve swell to almost unknown levels, and with a battle cry that would make any lesser creature run away, he charged headlong to the reinforced doors that separated him from the fortress' interior. Two guards appeared half-way there, but he was quick to dispatch them and continue his charge…

…Only to find himself dumbfounded once he reached the front door as there was a note attached to it.

 _Too all who wish to see Verdia Dullahen,_

 _My master – the great Demon Lord – has ordered me to investigate an event that requires my leave. It is unknown how long how long this assignment will keep me occupied, so anyone brave – or foolish – enough to challenge me are free to wait outside the premise until I return to slaughter you. I suggest hunting the area to west of my land if you require food, and to the south is a natural hot spring with a beautiful waterfall that creates a spectacular rainbow during the time of the rising sun. You are welcome to enjoy the luxuries I have listed as they will more than likely be your last._

 _Sincerely,_

 _Verdia Dullahen_

 _P.S. Should you require equipment for a temporary shelter, feel free to use the items in the crate to your left._

Kyouya felt his eye twitch as he finished reading the letter. "I did all of that to find out he wasn't actually here. What could be so important that he needed to investigate it himself?"

KONOSUBA!

"K-Kazuma!" A drunken voice slurred followed by a couple hiccups.

"Hey," the adventurer nonchalantly greeted as Aqua stumbled up the path that led to the stables. He and Chris were sitting outside – after he placed Megumin on the group's straw pile so she could sleep – having a pleasant conversation when the drunken Goddess announced her presence.

"Kazuma!" Aqua called out once again. "D-did you know – _hic_ – that the g-g-guild has some great liquor?" She began laughing for no apparent reason.

"Yes," the mentioned Adventurer answered just as plainly as before.

Chris watched the exchange between them with a hand over her mouth to hide the small amusement that was threatening to turn into full blown laughter. She continued to watch as the drunken girl stumbled forward to latch onto Kazuma, her words becoming more unintelligible by the second.

"Hey, hey! Get off me damn it! Where the hell were you anyway?"

"I don't know." Aqua surprising answered intelligently, followed by another fit of giggles as Kazuma tried to pry the girl off him.

"Aqua just… just go to bed or something and leave me alone!" Kazuma turned the Goddess towards the stables, and pushed in that direction, watching as she continued to giggle and hiccup along the way. "Finally," he breathed a sigh of relief, "so anyway, what were you saying about-"

"Kazuma!"

 _Ohhhhhhhh what now?!_ "What do you want Darkness?"

The Crusader was walking up the path with most of the armor previously missing back in place, her clothes still looked torn underneath though. To Kazuma's relief, she didn't appear to be in her masochist daze. "I wished you would have told me you and Megumin left, I spent most of the afternoon searching for you two amongst the guild's wreckage."

"Megumin wanted to go to sleep," _even though she changed her mind halfway there to blow up the castle instead,_ "and you were busy lying on the floor."

Darkness had the decency to look embarrassed while looking in the other direction. "Right… Hello Chris."

"Hey Darkness!" the Thief greeted enthusiastically, "I heard you were the one who started that bar fight."

"I… uh," she looked up with a beat-red face, "that's not quite…"

"Don't you dare deny it!" Kazuma pointed a finger at the Crusader. "If you hadn't tackled us into that other groups table then the whole thing could have been avoided, but noooooo, you just had to join in!"

Chris once again laughed – at her friend's expense though – as Darkness futilely tried to come up with a proper excuse for her actions. "Well it's been a lot of fun as always, but I need to head back to finish up my quest." She stood up and winked at Darkness and Kazuma. "I'll see all of you later, and try not to start any major fights without me next time!"

* * *

Believe it or not Arakuremono really is the name of the man who keeps showing up throughout the series to give Kazuma some random inspirational words. Just a random piece of interesting I enjoyed finding. I was surprised he had a name in the first place.

Anyway, like I said up top, it'll probably be a little while before chapter 3 comes out, but in the meantime, I hope you have a wonderful day and I'll see you later!


	3. Chapter 3

Hey everyone, guess who's back with another chapter, me!

Let me tell you, this one was a bit more difficult than I anticipated. I went through three different drafts before finally settling on an idea that seemed to work for me. Add on school and work, and I'm just glad I got it done in the amount of time I did. But enough of those boring details, you came here for a story!

This one takes place just after episode 4 ends.

Disclaimer: I do not own Konosuba.

* * *

Chapter: 3

Silence… sweet, blissful silence.

Verdia sighed happily as his headless horse trotted down the path towards the ruined. After placing the death curse on that odd Crusader and challenging the crimson Mage to fight him, Verdia decided to enjoy the moment by teleporting only partway through the forest. Figuring he had plenty of time to relax until that foolish girl came to save her ally.

 _She'll probably take the rest of the day to gather supplies and possible allies for a massive raid._ That's what he figured at least. Considering the girl's lineage – odd the Crimson Demon's may be, they were still known by all for the proficiency in the magic arts – he wouldn't put it past her to come alone. Magic _was_ the only effective means to fight an undead, unless one were to use holy enchantments.

But it would take some very powerful magic to hurt him thanks to the armor his leader had gifted him with.

"No matter," Verdia laughed as the castle came into view. "I find myself excited at facing one who is capable of using Explosion magic at such a young age!"

The girl reminded him of Wiz now that he thought about it. Not in body, definitely not that, but she had spirit, and Verdia knew better than most how far that could take someone.

The first thing he did upon entering the ruined structure was to position his troops throughout the area strategically. A group that would wait just outside the gate itself. A few here and there throughout the underground tunnels in case they tried to sneak in. The occasional patrol through the hallways. And of course, he saved two of his most heavily armored soldiers to guard the doors to the throne room.

Bits of stone littered the area as he entered the room, reminding Verdia of his original reason for heading towards the town. While annoyed, the damage also served to excite the General as Explosion magic was known to have a high skill cost and mana drain. If the girl was able to acquire a skill like that than she must have a whole assortment of advanced skills just waiting to be used!

With a bit of magic, and a wave of his hand – the one not holding his head – Verdia summoned an ornate throne in place of the shattered one. "Much better," the Dullahan sighed, sitting down before activating a simple barrier to protect him in case that girl tried to bombard this room to weaken or kill him before charging in.

 _All I can do now is wait…_

Without a roof, Verdia was able to watch as the sun began to set, bathing the throne room in an eerie twilight setting with one column providing a long shadow that hid him and his throne. If someone walked in right then and there they would only see one red eye staring at them. The General felt a little giddy at how intimidating he must look.

But the moment passed, and the sun sunk below the horizon with stars slowly making themselves known in the dimming sky, until the twilight was replaced with a soft glow as the full moon reached its highest point. It was at this point that Verdia allowed himself to lean back fully. He fell asleep soon after.

* * *

"Verdia… oh Verdiaaaaaaaa… He isn't waking up."

"Lazy bastard. I told him not to drink so much last night and does he listen to me? Noooooo, he just goes ahead and chugs the entire bottle of liquor. Do you know how much I spent on that?!"

"To be fair, we were celebrating, it's not everyday someone defeats one of the Demon King's Generals. The reward we earned will last us years if we're smart."

Verdia groaned as the two voices slowly dragged him out of his slumber.

"Oh, would you look at that, sleeping beauty finally decided to wake up his drunken ass."

"Go to hell," the knight muttered, firmly keeping his eyes shut so the sun wouldn't make his headache any worse, "and bring me a bottle of something – I don't care what, so this damn hangover will go away!" he regretted shouting the last bit immediately.

"Oh no, you ain't drinking anything else for the rest of the week, do you know why?" Verdia peeked one eye open to glance at Kyūdō, his party's leader and the best damn archer in this country. "Because in one night – just one – we spent over 10,000 Eris! Over half of that was by you drunkenly shouting that we'd cover the tab for _everyone_ in that guild!"

"We were celebrating!" Verdia snapped, his morning anger temporarily overriding his common sense. The sun light, shouting, and movement from sitting up so quickly proved to be too much.

With a hand covering his mouth, Verdia looked around the area with desperate urgency, his eyes quickly located a bush which he ran over towards to empty his stomach of last night's meal.

"Oh dear…" the young knight heard someone kneel down next to him, and felt mu ch better a moment later. Looking over, he saw Miko – the third and final part of their party – casting a recovery spell on him. "Feeling better?" the Arch-Priest asked her friend, a look of concern taking away none of the beauty from her face.

Heat crept up his neck, and Verdia looked away while mumbling an affirmative to her question. He then heard Kyūdō snicker – probably because the bastard knew how he felt about the woman next to him, Verdia sent a warning glare in his direction, silently telling, and pleading, Kyūdō to not say anything. His leader smirked, turning towards Miko, his green eyes practically glowing with mirth, he threw out a suggestion.

"Hey four eyes, take a closer look, I think our favorite knight is coming down with something."

The Arch-Priest sent a mock glare in Kyūdō's, the nickname once used as an insult had long ago become a term of endearment between the two party members, before doing as suggested by their leader, and leaned just a bit closer towards Verdia.

"Hmm…"

Verdia, for his part, remained perfectly composed on the outside as he allowed his friend to perform a basic examination, although, inwardly, he had to resist the urge to let out a blissful sigh as he felt Miko place a delicate hand on his forehead and wrist. The touch of her skin on his and the feel of her breath were making him crazy. Kyūdō, all-the-while, had a giant grin on his face, making Verdia want to go over there and smack it off with the flat side of his new broadsword.

"He doesn't seem sick," Miko finally concluded, rising to her feet before wiping of some grass of her outfit, "but take it easy for the rest of the day, Verdia. I don't think you've fully recovered from that concussion you received."

He and Kyūdō blinked, both men completely forgetting about that particular injury. Now that Verdia thought about it, this headache did feel different than the normal ones he got during a mean hangover. "Right," he agreed, deciding, if nothing else, it was a good idea to listen to the group's healer.

"Well, now that we got that settled, who wants some breakfast?" Kyūdō asked, already heading back towards the campfire where a large boar was roasting over it. "This bad boy should be ready to eat within the hour."

After a great meal where Verdia consumed most the meat, much to Miko's chagrin, the group of three packed their supplies, and placed everything into their single-horse wagon.

"I'll ride in the wagon." The Arch-Priest offered, wishing to take the time to go over their supplies and finances.

"Then I'll drive the wagon itself." Verdia said, looking towards Kyūdō for confirmation.

Their leader nodded, and mounted the second horse – this one have nothing but a saddle and pouch on it. "So pretty much what we do every time?"

They shared a smile, and with a "Hiyah!" from Verdia to get the wagon moving, continued their journey down a forest trail.

"How's it looking back there, four-eyes?" Kyūdō called out to Miko after a few hours of traveling with the mentioned girl never emerging from the tiny wagon in that time.

Verdia had to hold back his amusement as his friend emerged only to shout that Kyūdō was being "too impatient," before disappearing once more.

"You should know by now that Miko will let us know when everything's been accounted for." Verdia reminded, being rewarded a moment later when the Arch-Priest's arm came out with a fresh apple; which Verdia promptly began eating.

"Where's my apple?!"

The response was instant, and the Knight didn't bother trying to hold back the laughter as the fruit requested practically flew out of the wagon, and crashed into their leader's head. Kyūdō fell off his horse, with bits of apple mush stuck to his face, but his foot got caught preventing him from fully coming off. Because of the sudden action, the horse itself reared, before running faster down the path, Kyūdō's face being dragged along the ground while the man screamed at both the horse to "stop before I use Snipe on you!" and Miko with a "I'm definitely going to use it on you!"

Slowly, Miko's head peaked out, her face a bright tomato red as the situation she just caused continued to escalate to ridiculous levels.

"Shouldn't… shouldn't we go after him?"

Verdia wiped away a tear as he tried to reign in his laughter. "Nah, there's no point, we'd never catch him with the wagon attached."

"What should we do?"

Bless her heart the woman was a saint compared to everyone else in this world. But this presented a rare opportunity to spend some time alone with her. _I'm not passing up this opportunity._ "We keep on going, enjoying the lovely scenery on the way, and wait until either we hear his screaming or find his unconscious body. I'm fine with the latter, hell, I'd be ecstatic if it were the latter."

Miko came out to sit next to him, gently smacking his arm for the comment. "Don't say that! He's our friend. I hope he'll be ok, I wouldn't have thrown that apple so hard if I knew this would happen."

"Don't be." Verdia nudged her with his shoulder. "Give it a few hours – maybe a day or two – than we'll be laughing about this over a couple drinks and a good meal."

"You really need to watch how much you drink, it's not good for you and it might cause more problems for your concussion. Speaking of which, how does your head feel?"

He took a moment to evaluate. "Pretty good, I have a headache, but it's barely noticeable."

"Good!"

It was a solid half-hour of traveling at a leisure pace, filled with pleasant conversation between the two, before the telltale signs of Kyūdō's screaming and cursing was heard by the duo.

"He sounds angry."

Miko gave a fearful moan at that. She looked back-and-forth between the path and the wagon. Torn between hiding for her leader's anger, and staying to take care of the injuries he surely had.

"Oh relax," Verdia added, seeing how nervous she was. "Yeah, he's angry – probably will be until he gets healed and eats something, but there's no way he'll do anything more than reprimand you for wasting food like that, I'm actually more worried about what he did or will do to the horse for ignoring his orders."

Miko visible relaxed at that. She still looked nervous, but the grateful smile let Verdia know he said the right thing.

"Come on," he said, before whipping the reins so the horse would move a little faster, "let's go check on our fearless leader."

\- KONOSUBA! -

"-don't even try to look at me with those innocent eyes of yours! When I say, 'I won't hesitate to ditch you with an army of undead!' you better believe I mean it! Look at my face! Look at it! Remember how awful it looked? Bad, right? I almost wish the injuries weren't healed so you could stare at how much pain you made me suffer through!"

"Kyūdō!" Verdia shouted, thoroughly sick and tired of listening to the man's shouting, ranting, and all-around whining about what transpired earlier that day. "Two hours… two _hours_ you've spent screaming at that poor horse. Just give it a break, sit your ass down, and eat some of this roast Miko was kind enough to make as an apology. At this rate you'll lose your voice if you keep screaming. On second thought, keep on going!"

The archer took several deep breaths, allowing the extra blood to drain from his face, until he was standing there as if he hadn't spent an absurd amount of time yelling at an animal. With a sigh, Kyūdō joined them around the fire. "Bastard," he muttered to Verdia who smirked back at him in response.

"Here you go." Miko held out the food for her friend to take.

He inhaled with his nose, smelling the spices and cooked meat to gauge how it would taste, and almost smiled when he caught the scent of a spice made exclusively in his home town. It reminded him of his mother's cooking and the festivals that were held where he first met Verdia who was hiding behind one of the booths, trying to sneak a peak in the showgirls' tent. Pushing the memories aside, Kyūdō took the food, thanking his friend in the process, before chowing down immediately.

"We'll arrive in the next town in a couple hours." Verdia said after everyone finished eating. The three adventurers sat in a loose circle with a map of the area laid out in-front of them. "That is," and he looked towards Kyūdō with a smirk, "if nothing else happens along the way."

"I'll need to resupply some of my potion ingredients." Miko cut in before an argument could start. "Plus, some materials for new runes. I have this idea of making one that emits a calming field around it."

"You don't say." Both men looked towards in each other in surprise after muttering the same thing while poor Miko merely pulled her scarf over her face to hide the embarrassment she was showing.

"One more thing," Verdia added, pulling their attention back to the map. He placed a finger on the map – further up on the path they were currently travelling on. "One of the guards from the last town warned me that a group of bandits were hiding out around this area and ambushing anyone that looks easy to take. There's a side path we could take to avoid the group entirely," he moved his finger along the new path, until it ended at the gate of the next town, "or… we could continue on and face these bandits."

"Why would we do that?" Miko asked.

Verdia said nothing, and pulled out a rolled-up parchment from his pouch to show them.

 **Capture Quest**

 **Capture the leader of the elusive Jōhō bandits!**

 **Reward: Alive: 3,000,000 Eris**

 **Dead: 500,000 Eris**

 **Bonus rewarded for every additional member caught**

"How much?!" Kyūdō shrieked.

"But… we don't need another high reward." The Arch-Priest reminded them, before focusing her attention on Verdia. "Besides, I don't think you've fully recovered from facing that General earlier this week. We should just go on the side path and allow the guardsmen to take care of it."

"We have enough to live comfortably, but I say we use that money to buy ourselves high-end gear and materials. There's still several more Generals out there, and we struggled to face this one. I want to _slaughter_ the next one we face – to send a message to the Demon King that we're coming for him!"

"As much as I hate to agree with him, Verdia has a point." Kyūdō pulled out his bow and gazed at it with fond but remorseful eyes. "It was only because you enchanted our gear prior to the battle that we stood any chance against… uh… what was his name again?"

"The Undead King."

"Right, right, we barely defeated that thing, and even though Verdia got an awesome new sword out of it, we still have average gear overall. Plus, rumor has it that the Jōhō's leader knows the location of the other Generals which would save us months of following random leads like we did last time. Besides, we've taken on bandit gangs before, this one shouldn't be any different."

"Except for the part where the leader has escaped everyone who tries to bring him in." Verdia contributed, making Kyūdō roll his eyes.

Miko's fingers clenched and unclenched around the fabric of her shirt as she thought it over. She knew – without a doubt in her mind – that her party members could take down anyone when they worked together, so long that there wasn't a special condition to defeat the opponent. They could communicate complex battle plans with merely a second of eye contact then execute said with such ease that she often wondered if those two were secretly telepaths. And the thing that startled her the most, they wouldn't do anything if she said no. Those two respected her opinion far too much to do otherwise.

"Alright," she finally said, seeing the pros far outweighed the cons.

Kyūdō and Verdia smiled, and immediately the three began to plan.

* * *

 _This is so boring._ The bandit had to repress the urge to yawn as he sat high in one of the trees that provided a great vantage point to spy on the path for any potential targets. This path in particular was the next route for a convey that would be transporting large amounts of valuables. Word was the local Governor was moving into a new mansion. _Probably some undeserving bastard who cheated those goods out of hardworking individuals._

A growl made its way out of the bandit's lips at the thought. Here he was, working his ass off to break the law so the next meal he eats wouldn't come from the garbage, and that damn Governor was probably stuffing himself like a damn pig! It wasn't fair!

He used to have a job working in the mines. Sure, the conditions weren't the best, he had a feeling this was so the company could say some Eris, but it was good, honest work. However, once production began to slow to a halt – the reason being the mine simply had no more ore in it – the company fired everyone there, packed up, and left for a new town to exploit. Jobless, and eventually homeless, he could do nothing else but survive from that point on. He was lucky the Jōhō bandits took him in.

"Hey." A voice quietly called out below him.

"Huh?" Looking down, the bandit saw another member waving him down. "Is my shift over already?"

"Yeah, but if you're enjoying yourself, I'll just say you volunteered to keep watch for a few more hours." The other member turned to leave, but stopped at his hurried response.

"Hang on, I was just lost in thought!" He slid down and gave the other man a dirty look – though, it was a little difficult to tell due to the cloth and headband the bandits wore to cover their faces. "And next time remember to use the stupid bird call. Anyone else would have put an arrow through your skull."

"Right, right, I'll remember… how did it go again?"

"For the love of-" he sighed, before performing the call the best he could, cringing afterwards. "It's supposed to be a bit higher pitch than that, but you'll be fine so long that you follow the tune correctly."

"I think I can manage that, thanks."

"Good," he walked past the other bandit, eager to get back and eat something.

"Hang on, I think you forgot something."

"What could I-?" That was as far as he got before a solid punch knocked him out cold.

"Your shift wasn't over." Kyūdō said, a smirk hidden beneath the mask as he moved the bandit into the bushes. "That's the second piece of information I've gotten from just asking. Now let's see what was next on the list… right! Number of people guarding the perimeter," he looked at the bush, and added a little side note, "minus three if I include the next guy. Wonder how Miko's doing, she should be distracting the main group right now."

"Nature's Beauty!" From both hands came a small, crystal clear stream of water that perfectly poured into the cups balancing atop the heads of two bandits, and from within the cups a beautiful flower sprouted. The crowd of bandits erupted with cheers as Miko – also disguised as a bandit – bowed in gratitude.

"AGAIN! AGAIN! AGAIN!" they chanted.

She gestured for them to calm down, and spoke up once they were quiet. "Alright, for this next one, I will need three more volunteers."

Immediately the group was shouting again with each bandit nearly begging Miko to be a part of her tricks.

"Ok… I pick you, and you behind that gentleman over there…" _please hurry up Verdia, party tricks can entertain people for only so long._

Verdia, for his part, felt incredibly uncomfortable wearing the bandit disguise. He was used to having heavy armor protecting almost every part of his body, and the suits these bandits wore offered no protection. Plus, the fabric was really itchy.

 _The sooner I get this done the sooner I can get out of this thing._

His part of the mission was arguably the most important – Miko saying it was also the most dangerous. The leader stayed in his own private tent, Verdia's job was to go in, capture the leader, and dig up any information that his party or the Guardsmen could use. What made this difficult was the fact he didn't have any piece of his regular gear on. A simple sword was the only thing these bandits seemed to have in terms of close combat, but the Knight was used to fighting with massive broad swords that weighed almost as much as he did.

"Work with what you got." Verdia muttered to himself, mirroring Kyūdō's casual reply when he complained about it earlier. Approaching what he thought was the leader's tent – the only real indicator it was being a bit bigger than the rest of them along with the bandit's symbol marked on it – Verdia pulled out his borrowed sword, prepared to dash in and knock out whoever was inside, only to pause when he saw a note stuck to one of the flaps.

 _Do no disturb._

"There is no way I'm this lucky…"

Despite saying that, Verdia opened the flap a little more carelessly than he would have, and to his amazement, saw the leader of the Jōhō bandits, revered for being damn near impossible to track let alone catch – sleeping comfortable with a trail of drool hanging off the corner of the man's mouth.

"You. Have got. To be kidding me."

* * *

" _That's_ how you captured the entirety of the Jōhō bandits? Including their leader?" The Captain of the Guardsmen asked incredulously, looking towards the mentioned group as her men escorted them onto several prison wagons to be transported. Her eyes fell on the leader just in time to see him shoved into a fortified transport. "That man has eluded us for years, escaped from prison four times, and you just find him when he's _asleep_?"

Kyūdō shrugged, "I was just as surprised as you were, but I'm not complaining. Made things a whole lot easier for us."

"True… I'm assuming you will want the reward for this bounty, including the bonus once we've calculated that, but how do you want to be paid?"

"Yeah, I got an account set up for my party to use. How about I head back with you to get that taken care of?"

The Captain raised an eyebrow. "You do know it will take a few hours for me to fill out the paperwork for the leader alone, if you come now, I'll have to ask you to stay until the matter is finished."

"That's fine." Kyūdō replied with a sudden twinkle in his eyes. He turned towards his other party members and told them to go into the city without him. Miko and Verdia replied with a questioning "Ok," and said they would meet up with him at the local guild.

Not one to normally involve herself with others personal lives, the Captain was a little surprised to find herself curious about the leader's behavior. "You're not really interested in doing this, are you?"

"Oh hell no." he replied easily. Then, his gaze softened as he watched his friends walk side-by-side towards the city together, and his voice had a fond quality to it when he spoke again. "But those two deserve every bit of happiness they can get."

-KO-NO-SU-BA!-

The undead General awoke from his slumber, feeling refreshed and sentimental after relieving one of his oldest memories. _Perhaps I will see them once more when this is all over,_ the Dullahan wondered, watching as the sun began to rise over the castle. _They've had enough time; the attack should happen soon._

In a way, he was right…

"Explosion!"

The attack erupted within the room itself, surprising Verdia as the shockwave – from being so close – was able to shatter his barrier as if it were made of glass, followed closely by a wave of fire that made him yell out in pain as bits of his throne melted onto him and quickly cooled by a follow-up breeze the displaced air created.

Trapped, Verdia quickly ordered his army to ready themselves. "We're about to face an enemy unlike any other!" _Perhaps I shouldn't have gone so far…_

It took precious minutes for him to break out of the throne, time that was oddly quiet despite the battle that _surely_ was happening right now. However, when nothing else happened over the next hour, Verdia felt horror swell up from his very core. _No…_

When it became apparent nothing else was going to happen that day, Verdia summoned a new throne, and placed an even stronger barrier around it. _This was probably just a test by her part – a way to check my defenses…_

Yeah, that made sense, that had to be it. But even as he sat down on the new throne, Verdia couldn't help but worry about what was about to happen next. And he was right to do so.

"Explosion!"

Because the next day proved to be no different as the magic attack crashed into the worn-out structure without any form of follow-up attack.

This continued…

"Explosion!"

Every.

"-plosion!"

Single.

"-osion!"

Day.

"-ion!"

The intense heat turned some of the stone around his feet into molten slag that then acted like small rivers as it flowed through the numerous cracks around the area. Behind him, the last remaining wall collapsed, being unable to support itself after so many repeated shockwaves wore out its foundation. Verdia, meanwhile, ideally waited inside his barrier with his head on one of the armrests while a hand tapped a rhythmic tune along the helmet.

He waited a few more minutes before he dropped the barrier, taking some time afterwards to stretch his undead body.

 _One more day until my death curse finishes off that Crusader._ Considering the way things were going however… Verdia closed his eyes as an act of respect. _Why anyone would allow an upstanding knight die in such an undignified way is beyond me._ He moved his head upward towards the clouds. _I hope you find yourself in a better place, foolish Crusader._

 _I can't help but feel like I was transported to a video game world that was meant to be played by children, but with the difficulty raised to the absolute limit. Or was it meant to be played by adults with the lowest difficulty?_

The though ran through Kazuma's head as he watched Darkness – who was completely slathered with slime at this point –once again get swallowed by a giant toad. She then began spouting out some nonsense about the creature being too strong for them to take on – did she just throw her sword away? – before disappearing completely into the toad's mouth. Kazuma sighed, taking his sweet time to approach the monster as it tried to swallow the masochist Crusader.

Tried being the key word.

Because as the young Adventurer had found out during the first couple toads, Darkness – with her armor on – was apparently too large and heavy for the toads to properly eat, meaning, they started to choke while trying to eat Darkness whole.

 _3…2… and…_

With one final gasp, the giant toad collapsed a couple feet in-front of where Kazuma had just moved to with Darkness sliding out of its mouth soon after; a look of complete bliss plastered on her face. The Adventurer let out another sigh.

 _I honestly don't know who to feel bad for. The toads who die from choking on Darkness or the person who's going to have to clean her armor._ "That's the sixth one that's died trying to eat you. Ready to go back yet?"

"Of course not!" The woman replied. "These monsters are terrorizing the people and farmers who live around this area! It is my duty as a Crusader to eliminate these monsters, no matter how much slime they cover me in!"

His eye twitched. "Huh uh," Kazuma looked towards another hill where he saw a bright blue toad resting there with its head pointing in their direction. "OI!" He called out, immediately getting the creature's attention. "There's a Crusader here just lying around, ready to be eaten!"

With little care, because he knew how tough the woman was, Kazuma placed his foot along Darkness' side, and with some effort, nudged her enough so she began rolling down the hill towards the creature.

"S-s-so cruel!" Darkness said that with a smile that inwardly made Kazuma shudder.

 _Yeah, I definitely feel bad for that toad. I really can't believe I'm saying this, but I'd rather be hanging out with Aqua at this point. At least she isn't crazy enough to run towards something dangerous._

Cackling madly, Aqua ran back towards the Beginners town with Megumin who was currently gripping the former Goddess' shoulders tightly so she didn't fall off.

"Fantastic, absolutely fantastic!" Aqua gushed with a mad glint in her eyes. "That'll show that undead what happens when you take away all the good quests!"

Megumin found herself warily watching her friend. There was no denying how amazing it felt to unleash herself on something so large, but it just didn't feel the same without Kazuma there to watch.

The Adventurer shuddered, feeling like something very wrong just happened, and he was unwillingly a part of it. He shrugged it off and looked back down at his card, checking which skills that were currently available for him to learn while also looking more into what skills he could upgrade. _One of these days I'm seriously going to pay Chris for teaching me this stuff._

Then a stray thought passed through his head.

 _I've never used steal on the toads before._

What could he steal from them anyway?

"Only one way to find out." Kazuma stashed his card away, and picked the closest toad – which was at least two hills away from him – to test his idea on. "Here we go! Steal!"

There was the usual blinding flash of light the skill always produced, followed immediately by something heavy plopping onto his outstretched palm, so heavy that he immediately needed his second hand to hold it. Not only was it heavy, it was slimy too. Why did it feel like it was pulsing?

"What am I even holding?!" Kazuma yelled, watching as the greenish ball seemed to wiggle around without him doing anything. Then, a big eye opened, and stared right at him.

Till the end of his days, Kazuma would deny that what came out of his mouth that day was a high-pitched shriek.

"Is this a tadpole? Did I just steal a toad egg?!" his rambling questions would have continued had the ground beneath his feet remained calm, but a near earthshattering quake left him tumbling forward onto his hands and knees. When he looked towards the source, all the color his face drained. The toad he had used Steal on was _charging_ towards him with a look of vengeance plastered on its face.

Kazuma screamed, and ran as fast as he could in the other direction. "I'm sorry!" the adventurer, ducked when the creature's tongue shot out, attempting to latch onto him or cause major damage at the very least. _Damn it, damn it, damn it! Ok, let's think this through._

He screamed again after having to jump over the tongue.

 _Okay, I have no attack that can eliminate them, Megumin is who knows where, Aqua isn't here to act as bait, and the only thing Darkness can do is choke them with her own body. That's it! Where the hell is she?_

"Kazuma!"

 _I am eternally grateful for having such high luck,_ because there walking just a short distance away from him was Darkness, a solid layer of slime covering her entire body. The Crusader seemed to be looking for him if the way she was wandering around was any indicator. She smiled when he came into view.

"Oh there you are. We should head back into town, I'm sure Aqua and… Megumin are… Kazuma?"

He must have been quite the sight with his face displaying both fear and relief, but that didn't matter to him. Kazuma, in a feat of pure adrenaline fueled strength, grabbed Darkness as soon as he reached her, and threw her at the incoming toad without any hesitation.

"I'M SORRY!" Kazuma yelled, and whether it was to Darkness for doing what he did or to the toad for condemning it to a Darkness related death, not even he knew.

* * *

And that's a wrap. I was pleasantly surprised with how much fun I had writing about Verdia's life when he was alive. One of the nice things about the show providing pretty much no backstory allows me to put in whatever I want, and it felt great to do that. Verdia is probably one of my favorite characters despite the fact we hardly see him throughout the series.

Moving on.

I'm sure some of you noticed this, but I purposefully didn't go that in-depth describing alive Verdia and his two party members, because I believe in the concept of 'less is more' meaning I provide a few basic features - sometimes that's eye or hair color, could be a unique feature on their body, even a few special articles of clothing - while allowing my audience to fill in the missing pieces themselves. I've read stories where the author writes this absolutely massive paragraph describing a characters looks, and I've found myself both getting bored as the description keeps going on and forgetting the looks almost as soon as I've finished the chapter.

Anyway, that's my explanation for that if any of you were curious, but as always, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'll see you next time, and have a wonderful day!


	4. Chapter 4

I am so sorry.

This was not supposed to take me so long to write. My family went on vacation for a few weeks leaving me with a couple house - all of which have pets in them - to watch. Let me tell you, those animals made it their mission to not let me write. Then finals approached in school, keeping me busy for weeks and leaving me too drained to write anything. Then I went to the doctor to do a simple task of removing an in-grown toenail, only to find out that insurance paid half of the bill, leaving me with an 800 dollar bill to pay. And to top it all off, a major fight broke out in my family, with me as the neutral party trying to mediate the whole damn thing.

So I've been busy, but the chapter's finally done! I hope you enjoy it!

Edit: Want to say a quick thank you to Nanya for telling me what the actual names of Kyouya's party members were. Thank you!

Chihiro Fujimi, thank you for telling me that, but I actually already knew that Arakuremono was more of a definition than an actual name. The problem is that that guy doesn't have a name, last I checked at least, and the only thing listed under him is either "The brute" or "The ruffian" so I kinda made that definition his name as a joke. But again, thank you for saying something.

* * *

Chapter: 4

"A drink."

"No."

"Buy me a drink."

"No."

"I said. buy me. A. Drink."

"I said no."

" _Child_ ," the single word held so much frustration that Kazuma thought the owner was about to burst, "after the hellish week you've put me through, I deserve something to relieve the unbearable migraine your party has caused me!"

"First of all, the only thing I've done – the only thing! – was separate your head from your body. Second, Aqua can't control her holy aura in any way. Believe me, I've asked her too many times to keep track. Finally, Megumin was the one who dropped you in that pile of manure!"

"Exactly my point! How is a party as incompetent as yours able to walk – let alone take on quests – without sending the entire town into chaos?!"

The rest of the guild looked on in mild annoyance as Kazuma and the head of the former General, Verdia, argued with each other. While many at first questioned the boy's decision to keep Verdia's head instead of throwing it into the Arch-Priests spell like most would have done, most of the members now wondered how long Verdia was capable of arguing with his new owner. Everyday people bet how long the argument would last.

Arakuremono was winning most of them.

"How the hell do you even drink anything?" Kazuma asked, finally remembering he was talking to a head. "Is there even a skull underneath that helmet?"

"Of course not," Verdia scoffed as if that should have been obvious. "My body finished decaying centuries ago, and to answer your question, I do not drink like you would, rather, I convert the liquid into a form that my spirit is capable of absorbing."

"So… you're a ghost that can get drunk?"

Verdia's lone visible eye stared at Kazuma for several moments, before rolling it while letting out a sigh. "Yes, it is possible for me to get drunk, but it would require something much stronger than you humans drink."

"Oh. How much stronger are we talking here?"

"Strong enough that drinking it would kill anything smaller than a horse." The former General replied without hesitation.

"That strong?!" Kazuma asked in shock.

"Yes! Now, if you are done asking me questions involving my drinking habits, buy me a drink!"

"I. Can't. Afford. It!" Kazuma all but yelled, pointing to the meager scraps that made up his breakfast. "I can't even afford a decent meal for everyone now!"

A loud gurgle caught their attention, and both men looked over towards Megumin who was lying, facedown, on the floor. The noise was quickly followed by the Arch-Wizard pitifully moaning, mumbling something they couldn't hear. Aqua was next to her with moisture gathering at the corners of her eyes as the former Goddess stared at the slip that indicated how much debt they incurred due to her spell. Darkness – unlike the others – appeared to be completely unaffected by the situation they were in. Actually… she wasn't doing anything at all, just staring ahead with a blank look on her face.

It was somehow more unnerving than everything else the Crusader has done so far.

"This only proves my point." Verdia said, getting the Adventurer's attention. "Instead of relishing the hard-earned victory of defeating one of the Demon Lord's Generals, your party now suffers from more debt than businesses – even some small countries – incur. All because your Crusader was unable to keep me still for the smaller spells to hit me, and the Arch-Priest failed to control her spell, causing widespread destruction to the outer wall."

"I _know_ that." Kazuma barely restrained himself from yelling that, and with one shaky breath, felt his anger quickly morph into depressed contemplation. "Believe me, I do. Which is why I've been spending the past week trying to figure out how to get us out of it."

"How's that working out for you so far?" The undead knight knew the answer – the boy had answered it, albeit indirectly, just a second ago, but Verdia was a cruel man, and hearing his owner's despair and annoyance was one of the few joys he had left.

In a fit of anger, Kazuma slammed his fists on the table. "Damn it! This is your fault, you useless Goddess! If you stopped the spell like I told you to, we wouldn't be in so much debt!"

"My fault?!" The accused Goddess cried out, shoving the slip of paper in his face. "How is it my fault?! Everyone would have died had I not performed my spell! I should be paraded around town with everybody praising me, throwing offerings, spoiling me for all that I've done!"

"Have you completely forgotten that it's because of _your_ spell that the outside wall – along with part of the inner city – was destroyed!" Following the shout, Kazuma tried pushing Aqua away, who retaliated by hitting his face with the slip of paper in rapid succession.

Verdia watched on as the two continued to fight, utterly unsurprised at their behavior, but still absolutely disgusted with it all the same.

They were like children pretending to be heroes.

And he lost to them, he lost outright.

 _I really hope Vanir never hears about this._

KO-NO-SU-BA!

 _"Who are you?"_

A shop owner had asked him that. Everyone knew who he was. At least, everyone knew what he wore.

The question repeated itself over and over in Kyouya's head as he gazed at Gram, leaning against the wall in his house while he sat across from it, one leg flat on the ground while the other was acting as an arm rest. He wore a simple tunic and pants combo while his usual armor rested on a display standing in the main hallway. His two party members had left to go back to their hometown – at his request – to visit their family and friends while he stayed back in Axil to reflect. Verdia Dullahan had been slain, and at no point had he participated in the fight.

All because he didn't have Gram.

Ever since arriving to this fantasy world, Mitsurugi Kyouya had been nothing short of a one-man army. Gram's special abilities – from improving his speed at the cost of some vitality, to increasing attack power and performing pseudo-magic attacks by sacrificing defense – had allowed him to take a multitude of quests after being declared a Sword Master on day one. With a few hiccups on the way. Nothing anyone would remember of course, but it never failed to make him smile remembering the first few weeks of experimenting with the cursed blade's abilities.

Saving villages, defeating swarms of monsters, and defending the innocent had granted him the title of Hero. He did more in one month than most adventurers could do in their entire career. And yet… everything had changed the second Gram was taken away from him.

When the emergency alert echoed through the city with the request that all fighters head out to the main gate. Where had he been? Scrambling through every shop, searching for the one that Kazuma had sold Gram to. A Sword Master could wield any blade to its fullest extent as if it were newly made – being possible with the aid of the passive buffs the class granted.

Not for the first time Kyouya truly wondered what the curse on his blade actually was. Did it only revolve around decreasing one stat to buff another? Or, did it taunt the user by allowing them to gain fame and fortune, only to take it all away and disappear, leaving the person with nothing but what they had gained without its use. If that was true, then Gram was truly a terrifying blade.

 _Completing a quest, defeating monsters, this house, my clothes, food, my friends, how much is because of Gram? If I did it all again, without you by my side, how far would I have gotten? How much would I have been able to do?_

That was what bothered him the most.

 _I could always talk to Kazuma. Even with Aqua-sama by his side, he still seems to struggle. Despite the horrid rumors that surround him, Kazuma seems to be an honest person._

Kyouya perked up a little at the thought of being able to see the Goddess once more, hopefully under much better conditions this time.

"Just have to clean up first." The Sword Master decided.

By the time he had finished up and put on a fresh set of clothes, leaving Gram and his armor where they were, the sun had begun to set, and Kyouya started the trek to the guild hall where Kazuma's party usually stayed at most of the time.

On the way, Kyouya had noticed how people didn't seem to greet him like they did before. Did they not recognize him without his signature gear? That was as annoying as it was disheartening.

It didn't take long to reach the building where everything started, but the Sword Master was surprised to find Luna standing at the doors, seemingly locking it up for the night.

"Excuse me," he called out, startling the woman in the process.

"Oh, I'm sorry, but the guild isn't…" Luna paused the second her eyes landed on him, she leaned forward, squinting her eyes in the process, obviously recognizing him, but not completely. "Mitsurugi Kyouya?"

"Man, I really didn't think it would be that difficult for someone to recognize me." Kyouya said, although, it was more to himself than Luna.

"Oh I'm sorry!" the woman gave a polite bow, quickly rising with a smile. "Is there something I can do for you? There aren't any high-end quests yet to take, but I'm sure it will take only a few more days until that changes."

"Actually, I was just coming by to see if Kazuma was here." Kyouya explained. "I wanted to talk to him about something."

"Ah, well, you see…" Luna glanced back at the guild. "I suppose it would be alright," she whispered, turning back to him. "Kazuma is inside. When you've finished talking with him, give him this key and tell him to lock up every door." Handing the key to Kyouya, Luna waved him goodbye as she left the area.

Kyouya looked down at the key, then to guild, and silently wondered why Kazuma of all people would lock up the building. "At least I know he's here."

Opening the door, the Sword Master was greeted with mostly silence and darkness. For the first time, he realized, the old doors of the guild creaked, like that of a high pitch whine whereas the follow-up echo reverberated in a way that reminded Kyouya of a monster growl. It was then that he wished he brought a weapon along with.

He heard footsteps from behind, and whirled around to confront whatever was approaching – silently praying he didn't walk in on an extermination quest that Kazuma's party decided to deal with. The first thing he saw was a simple lamp being held by an all-to-pale hand. Following the hand to an arm then to a neck and eventually the head, Kyouya's own face paled as his vision landed on a ghostly face with piercing red eyes that seemed to look into his very soul.

Kyouya let out a very loud and very startled scream.

The face screamed back, however, it too sounded startled instead of frightening like he imagined it would.

"Oi! What the hell are you screaming at, Megumin?!" Someone demanded, immediately followed with the guild lights coming on, revealing to Kyouya the petrified form of the Arch Wizard he met earlier that week, clad in her pajama's.

"It's not my fault!" the girl yelled, pointing a finger at Kyouya. "This person comes inside, without any warning, and immediately screams in my face!"

"Damn it, who are you talking about?" The door leading to the staff area slammed open, where Kazuma stormed out with the Crusader looking over his shoulder.

"Ah, Kazuma." Kyouya greeted, relieved to have the lights on. "I actually came by because-"

"Hold on," the party leader interrupted, striding past him to a nearby table where he deposited a few items. Kazuma then turned, and squinted his eyes just like Luna did earlier. "You look familiar, do I know you?"

"It's me! Mitsurugi Kyouya!" He exclaimed. Identity crisis aside, Kyouya was wearing that armor from now on just so people recognized him because this was getting ridiculous.

"Oh, right, what do you want?"

"I…" two sets of curious eyes, and one that was growing more annoyed by the second, dismayed Kyouya from bringing up his reason for being here. "Can we talk in private?"

"What do you wish to speak with our leader about?" Suspicion creeped its way into Darkness' voice as she took a protective step in-front of her party leader.

Megumin followed suit. It was probably for the best she didn't have her staff on hand. A full powered explosion would wipe out the entire guild, but without one… well… the guild should be repairable.

Before anything else could be done, both girls cried out when Kazuma grabbed their ears and gave a firm tug down. "Would you two knock it off! I can take care of myself just fine, besides, I've already beaten this guy once."

"But-!" Megumin tried to protest, only for his hand to quickly cover her mouth.

"Megumin," the party leader started, "just once, listen to me. I'm fine. Just take Darkness, and go finish repairing the generator with Aqua. Now, be a good little girl and ru-OW!" Kazuma screamed in pain as the Arch-Wizard bit down on his hand.

"I'm not a little girl!"

"Then what would you call someone who's an entire head shorter than you!"

"Still growing!" she countered.

"Fine! Don't listen to me! What else is new?" Eyes flaring with anger, Kazuma began walking towards the bar. "This party's going to be the death of me."

"Should… should I come back another time?" Kyouya asked, feeling incredibly awkward.

"Umm…" Darkness eloquently replied, scratching her cheek, looking far less intimidating than she was a second ago.

"Just go talk to him for all I care!" Megumin grabbed the Crusader by the arm, and dragged her back towards the door. "And I don't care, for your information!" she added at the last second, though, Kyouya suspected it was aimed towards Kazuma rather than him.

"Right…" he looked over towards the bar where Kazuma now sat with a purple helmet next to him, and finally decided to ignore everything that just happened, and finish what he started.

"I actually came here to ask you a question." Kyouya said after making the small trek over. "Oh, and before I forget," he fished out the key Luna gave him and set it on the counter between them, "You're supposed to lock up the doors tonight."

"Wonder why she didn't give it to me in the first place," Kazuma mumbled, just loud enough for the Sword Master to hear. "So," he glanced over to him without fully turning, "what did you – the Hero of Axil – want to ask me?"

That… something wasn't right with that question. Kyouya narrowed his eyes minutely as he analyzed the sentence. It was phrased to be a subtle insult towards him, but the way it sounded… "Are you alright?"

"The boy is just upset that his party is in debt now."

For the second time that day, Kyouya screamed as a red eye appeared within the purple helmet to look at him.

"Stop yelling!" the helmet shouted.

"Damn it Verdia, why the hell would you tell him that?!" Kazuma picked up the helmet – _did he say Verdia?!_ – to glare down at the object, who returned the look with one of its own.

"What purpose would it serve to not tell him, hmm? Everyone in the guild knows about it. Rumors around town about this are spreading quickly as well. It's only a matter of time before people are openly talking about 'the slayers of Verdia and their immeasurable debt.'" Kyouya got the distinct feeling Verdia would have been making hand gestures if he still had a body.

"Are you really _the_ Verdia Dullahan?"

The arguing stopped, and now both boy and head were looking at him as if he was stupid.

"Who else could I be?" the former General grunted.

"Well… it's just… you don't look anything like I expected."

"Of course I don't!" Verdia jumped out of Kazuma's hands and onto the counter, turning to send another glare at the leader. "This child robbed me from my body, and instead of giving me an honorable death, he decides to keep me as some kind of trophy!"

"And I'm regretting every second of it."

"At least that is something we can agree on."

"Should I come back later?" Kyouya asked for the second time in a short while.

"No, hold on, just give me a second." Kazuma picked up Verdia, and took all of two steps before calling out, "Hey, Aqua! Come out here for a second!"

"Ne, ne, what is it Kazuma?" The Goddess walked out, clad in her old work clothes, and gave a startled yelp as Verdia came flying towards her, screaming the entire way. She caught the former General, and he immediately began to cry out in pain.

"Ah, ah! Hot! Unhand me this instant!"

"Do me a favor and watch him for a little bit," Kazuma requested, ignoring the pleas, "but don't use any magic on him."

"Heh," Aqua smirked with a dark gleam in her eyes, and lurked back into the darkened corridor with a horrified undead yelling out for mercy. The door slammed shut seemingly on its own.

Mitsrugi Kyouya had watched the event transpire with wide, terrified eyes. Having never seen that side of his beloved Goddess before, Kyouya was understandably shocked. "Is… is that normal?" How long was it going to take before he got to his original question?

The party leader sighed happily, plopping down next to the Sword Master with a grin. "Oh, you have nooooooo idea. Verdia is an absolute bastard. And being undead, Aqua can barely resist the urge to use one of her spells on him. Just being near her is painful for him."

"Well that's… interesting.

"More like a pain in my ass." Kazuma said to himself. "Anyway, what did you want to-?"

"You told me Aqua-sama was the perk you chose to take to this world, correct?" Kyouya was not taking any more chances. "Not any form of weaponry or bonus ability?"

Kazuma raised an eyebrow, "Yeah…"

"So, all of your accomplishments are your own, right?"

That same eyebrow twitched. "Are you going somewhere with this?"

"I…" and for a good long moment, Kyouya hesitated to tell him. Kazuma was a total stranger. The only common thing they shared was being from another world with Aqua-sama being the one who sent them here. Even then, there were still-

"Are you going to ask your question or just stare at me all night? If it's the later, I'm going to grab a drink."

"Do I deserve to be a hero?" Kyouya blurted out.

The silence that followed was near deafening to the Sword Master as the fellow adventurer looked at him with an unreadable expression.

"…What?"

 _Well I've already started, might as well see this through._ "This world is a dream come true for me. There wasn't much in the other world – our world – that I could do. I wasn't that good in school, sports, or anything else really. And even though I played video games quite often, I wasn't exactly top rank in that either."

"Yeah, I can relate." Kazuma reached behind the counter and grabbed two mugs, already filled with something Kyouya couldn't identify off the top of his head, and handed one to him. "That doesn't explain why you think you don't deserve to be a hero."

"Because despite doing everything a hero in a game would do, I've only done so because of Gram. That blade has _carried_ me this far. What I'm saying," Kyouya paused to take a swig from the mug, only to cough half of it out when it started going down the wrong pipe.

Rolling his eyes, Kazuma sipped his own drink before continuing where Kyouya left off. "What you're saying is that you're questioning yourself as a hero because you have – what you consider – a cheat item that is allowing you to bulldoze your way through any and everything standing in your way. Am I on the right track?"

Kyouya blinked. "Yes. That is exactly what I was getting at."

Kazuma scoffed. _Go figure._ "Don't worry about any of that."

"But-"

"Mitsurugi, let me stop you right there." Kazuma slammed the mug on the counter, causing some of the liquid to slosh out of the object and onto the counter. "Ever since me and Aqua got here, we struggled for a long time to make enough money to survive each day. We slept in stables because staying in a hotel would cost as much as two days' worth of work. Sure, we splurged a little on dinner, but we wanted a good meal after working so hard. It wasn't until a couple weeks passed that we decided to take on a kill quest – the giant toads if you were wondering."

"Oh yeah, those things were annoying to deal with."

"Right? Anyway, things didn't work out at all, so we decided to put out a notice to ask people to join our party." He took another drink and shuddered. "Megumin was the first to join after we waited half the day for someone to show up."

"Is she the Arch Wizard?"

"Yeah, stop interrupting. She joined us on that kill quest, showing off her Explosion magic immediately."

"She knows Explosion magic?"

"Do you want to hear the story or not?" Kazuma glared at him. "If you do then shut up and listen."

Kazuma went on to explain _everything_. Megumin's refusal to use any form of magic other than Explosion. Darkness being an unreasonable masochist who was incapable of hitting anything with her sword. The hardest one to explain to the guy was Aqua's intelligence – or lack thereof as was the case.

The story continued to describe all the quests his party barely completed. The giant toads repeatedly came up, making Kyouya cringe every time. Verdia's first warning due to Megumin's magic, and his subsequent assault when said warning went completely ignored. Then, it finally came to an end as Kazuma explained that his party was staying at the guild for the night while the stables were being cleaned up.

"Wow," Kyouya finally said, his mug now empty after listening through the whole story. "I'm… sorry."

"Nice to hear someone say that for once." Kazuma muttered, his eyes having glazed over halfway through the story. "So do yourself a favor, abuse the hell out of Gram. Relish in every victory against supposedly impossible odds. Bath yourself in the attention people will give you. And enjoy the title hero, because I don't think there are many people who can."

Kyouya breathed in a deep, regretful lungful of air. He was a lot more grateful for what he had after hearing that story. "I suppose you're right. It would be pretty selfish of me not to use every tool to its full use, wouldn't it?"

"Not exactly the point I was getting at, but sure, go with that."

"Well…" he stood up and smoothed down his clothes, "thank you for everything tonight. Is there something I can do for you?"

Kazuma scoffed. "Not unless you have 40 million Eris to spare."

"No. I definitely don't have that." Kyouya smiled and turned to walk away, but an idea came to mind that made him stop. "But… there may be something I can do for your party."

KONOSUBA!

"Kyouya, we're back!" Both Clemea and Fio – Kyouya's party members – called out as they entered the shared house. After spending a full week at their village, catching up with old friends and family, they were eager to see their party leader.

"Kyouya?" Clemea called out again when there wasn't a response, her green bangs swaying back-and-forth as she looked around.

"Do you think he went on a quest?" Fio asked as the two of them went down the main hallway.

"His armor is here, so I don't think so. Maybe he's asleep?"

"Do you smell that?"

Clemea sniffed the air, and her cheeks grew pink at a thought. "Maybe he wanted to welcome us home with a meal."

Fio frowned at that. While it would have been really sweet – not to mention romantic – of Kyouya to do something like that he didn't know when the two of them were returning. That, and the man has never shown any form of cooking prowess since the day they've met. "Let's go look."

The two girls walked a little further through the house, passing a glass case that proudly displayed Gram, confirming that Kyouya wasn't on some kind of quest at the moment, and finally walked through the archway into the kitchen. There they saw a large pot sitting on the oven with a lid clamped on. Considering it was the only thing in the area, it had to be the source of the heavenly smell.

"What's in there?" Fio asked curiously as Clemea took the lid of and sampled the contents.

"Rabbit stew," her friend answered while moving towards the cupboards, "but its missing a little… something." She pulled out a few spices and immediately got to work. Minutes later, Clemea was doing another taste test, and smiled in satisfaction. "I think it's ready!"

"Intruders!"

There was a flash of red and yellow before the two friends found themselves being pinned to the ground. Clemea would later describe the feeling as being 'similar to a mountain crushing her' while Fio herself only stayed down because she didn't know how to handle what was happening. Kazuma would get a real kick out of that.

"Identify yourselves!"

"And we _may_ you show mercy!"

" _We_ live here!" Clemea thrashed under her assailant's grip in a futile effort to get loose, settling down soon after once she realized it would do her no good.

"Eh?" Fio heard her assailant question.

She figured now would be a good time to talk. "Mitsurugi Kyouya owns this house! Clemea and myself are his party members, and we live here with him."

"Oh. Megumin, didn't Kyouya say his party members would be arriving back in town soon?"

"He did, I just didn't think that would be today."

Both girls felt their attackers release them, and immediately they stood up with Clemea taking a defensive position while Fio stepped behind her.

"Now it's my turn to ask questions!" Clemea glared, but that quickly turned into a frown as her eyes scanned the two in-front of her. "Wait a minute. Have we met before?"

"Have we?" the blonde woman repeated the question while glancing down towards the girl in the red witch dress. "They do look familiar, Megumin."

"We have, but it was a while ago." Megumin replied. "Don't you remember Darkness? It was the day we brought Aqua back from that lake mission. Kyouya broke the cage she was sitting in, he yelled at Kazuma, Kazuma beat him, and then these two started yelling at Kazuma. It was a weird day."

"Oh yeah." Darkness offered an apologetic smile as she scratched the side of her cheek. "Ah, sorry about that. We didn't know you two would be coming back today."

"Apology accepted!" Fio happily said, much more relaxed now that everything was over.

Clemea held out an arm. "Hold on! That still doesn't explain why you're in our house!"

"We live here now." Megumin replied simply. She offered them a shrug and gestured behind her. "If you want to know why, just ask Kyouya. He's out in the backyard with Aqua and Kazuma."

"Fine, I'll do just that!" And with that, she stormed off, leaving behind Fio who stood there awkwardly with the other two girls.

"So…" she racked her brain for something to say, bouncing back-and-forth on her heels just so she wasn't standing as still as a statue. "Would you like some help getting dinner ready?"

* * *

"Nature's Beauty!"

A crystal clear stream of water emerged from Aqua's fans, and gently watered the recently tilled earth beneath her feet. She hummed a simple, joyful tune to herself as she moved across the yard, watering every seed that Kazuma and Kyouya planted. Said teens were off to the side with Kazuma leaning against a shovel, the shirt of his tracksuit tied around his waist with Kyouya next to him kneeling down. Dirt covered his shirt, a basket full of weeds was next to him, and he wiped some sweat off his forehead.

This had to be the happiest he's been in a long time.

"Looks like the garden is coming along great!" the Sword Master looked up with a large grin on his face.

Kazuma nodded with a small smile gracing his own lips. "Yeah, Aqua's party tricks might not be good for much, but it definitely has it's uses. That water is as pure as water gets. Those plants will grow as fast as these weeds do."

"I certainly hope so." Kyouya chuckled; that quickly turned into a grunt as he worked to pull out a particularly stubborn weed. He sighed, and stepped away when his fellow adventurer decided to just simply dig out the thing.

"Once they do start to grow, Megumin can cook with a little more variety." Kazuma motioned for Kyouya to restart his efforts once he dug out enough dirt. "She'll be happy to hear that."

"She'll probably want you to help her out." Kyouya carefully said, trying his hardest not to glance up to gauge the other teen's reaction. "I'm surprised she even allowed Darkness to help her, she doesn't really trust anyone else but you to help her."

"Yeah, but it's not that surprising." He placed the shovel aside, and started helping to clear the area faster. "Darkness likes to cause accidents, you can't cook to save your life, and Aqua's… well she's Aqua. I'm the only one who won't burn, flood, or destroy everything she hands something to."

"… I'm not that bad." The Sword Master muttered dejectedly, disappointed in both the lack of reaction, and the mild insult – even though there was _some_ truth to it.

"Kyouya!"

The yell startled him to his feet. Whirling around, he saw his livid party member storming towards him with anger radiating off her in waves.

"Clemea?" he sputtered, completely thrown off by her attitude.

"Oh hey, looks like your friends are back." Kazuma said matter of fact, unfazed by the woman's anger.

"Clemea, is there something-?"

"Inside. Now!" She ordered as soon as she was within arm's length of her party leader. "You have some explaining to do!"

Kyouya was then dragged back towards the house, he looked back helplessly towards Kazuma who only shook his head in response.

"Just tell them everything." The Adventurer advised, having no other advice at the moment.

"Who was that." Aqua asked, pausing her spell to look at Kazuma with a questioning tilt of her head.

"One of his party members I guess." Kazuma shrugged, and went back to work on the weeds, only for someone to tap his shoulder not even a minute later. He looked up to see Darkness, her face covered with something red with some of it mixed in her hair as well. "Did you do something to ruin the meal?"

The Crusader's face seemed to become even redder as she said nothing, but nodded in response.

"And Megumin wants me to help her after telling you to get out?"

Again, nothing but a simple nod.

Kazuma sighed, standing up while wiping off the dirt and grass off his shirt and hands. "Alright. Do you mind finishing up the yard?"

"Sure," she finally spoke, her voice sounding oddly strained.

"Great." Despite it all, Kazuma found himself smiling as he walked towards the house where he was sure to find a flustered Kyouya explaining why there were an extra four people living in his place along with a fuming Megumin who would be muttering to herself about how she knew Darkness would mess something up until he arrived.

But they had a nice roof over their heads, the promise of food on their plates, and even though the crippling debt would be difficult to deal with, Kazuma felt like this good-for-nothing world was finally giving him a break.

* * *

"This is humiliating." Verdia couldn't find a better word to describe being used as the head for a scarecrow. He was a damn General! He fought legions of warriors without hesitation on a daily basis not long ago. And now he was nothing more than object meant to scare birds away from plants.

"Would you rather I cleanse you instead?"

The all-to-innocent question awoke a sense of terror within the Dullahan as he glanced over towards Aqua as she slowly stalked her way towards him, a dark gleam in her eyes and an unnaturally wide smile on her face.

"NO!" he cried out, trying in vain to control the amount of fear that leaked into his voice. "There is no need for that. I'm perfectly fine with this arrangement."

"Mmm." Aqua pouted, and puffed out her cheeks in childish disappointment.

Verdia breathed out a sigh of relief with the Arch Priest turned back to continue her previous task.

 _I really hope Vanir never finds out about this._

* * *

And this is the chapter where the story events begin to diverge - albeit slightly. Verdia's alive despite being nothing more than a head, Kyouya is more involved by inviting the group to live in his house for the time being, but that debt is still lingering over Kazuma's head. How this changes things remains to be seen.

In regards to updates, I hope more than anything it won't take almost another three months to make the next chapter, but this family in-fighting is a huge problem right now, and it kills my motivation when I spend an entire day dealing with it. But never fear, I will do my best to get the next chapter out!

See you later, and have a wonderful day!


	5. Chapter 5

**A little over a month. Not quite good, but not my worse update, so that's a plus in my books!**

 **On a related note, one of the reasons this took so long is because that family problem has reached the point where my own father isn't talking to me - actually spent the entirety of Father's day trying to contact him. It didn't work.**

 **Because of all of that, I'm a little worried my writing may have been affected without me knowing it, so if you notice something that seems off let me know. I want to give you all the quality content you deserve!**

 **On another related note, I'm going to bold the author's notes from now on, so you know when the chapter begins and ends. Something I probably should've done in the beginning, but this is as much of a learning experience as it is fun.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter: 5

"Explosion!"

After being a part of Megumin's daily explosion sessions for so long Kazuma had begun to notice details previously unnoticed. For example, the second in-between the spell's moment of casting and impact there was a moment of absolute silence, so brief everyone else wouldn't notice it, that now filled his entire body with awed-terror. That moment came and went, followed by a shockwave as strong as any other he'd felt as it sent large amounts of water from the lake the spell hit into the sky. Fire quickly turned to steam as the water came back down as rain, but Kazuma had done this enough to bring along a large, flat leaf to cover both himself and the explosion obsessed Arch-Wizard – some drops still made it through, dampening their clothing.

"Not bad." He looked down towards Megumin with a raised eyebrow. "It's hard to asses these ones though. A lake doesn't exactly break down like a castle does."

The girl groaned, turning her head just enough so her voice wouldn't be muffled. "I know, but there isn't anything left for me to use my magic on."

"Nooooo, there's _plenty_ of stuff you could use it on: secluded valleys, faraway mountains, _monsters!_ " Kazuma listed off, stressing the last one even though he knew there was no point in being subtle. "Hell, you could just not use the spell every single day, but because you do…" he threw his arms out while raising his voice. "There's nothing left to BLOW UP!"

"And what would you suggest?!" the girl demanded, turning a little more to glare up at him. "The nearest valley – nearest if I use a horse – is over three days away. If I unleash my immeasurable power on a mountain it might cause an avalanche!"

"And the monsters?!"

She scoffed at that. "What monster could withstand explosion magic?"

"A lot of them I bet." Kazuma replied. Squatting down and rolling the girl over onto her back. He took a calming breath and continued in a much softer tone. "Look, I'm only saying this because there isn't much left around the town for you to use your spell on – seriously, we've been coming to this lake for the past week. Maybe… maybe you should just take a break for a little while."

Megumin actually looked horrified at the suggestion. "But I… I…" but no more words would come out, and she looked away while tightening her grip on her staff. "What if I don't want to?"

"Then you're going to have to figure out a new spot that both satisfies your explosion urges, and doesn't upset the guards like it has been."

"The guards?" She questioned, looking back at him.

Kazuma sighed and leaned back with his arms. "Yeah, they've been bugging me all month to get you to stop using that spell."

"What?" Megumin was shocked for a moment, before quickly getting angry. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"Why would I?!" Kazuma matched her anger, quickly leaning forward till he was inches away from her face, giving her the meanest glare he could – which wasn't much by Megumin's standards. "Why would that piece of information change our routine, huh?"

"I would've stopped if I knew _you_ were the one taking the blame!"

"Huh?" Anger switched to confusion as Kazuma narrowed his eyes at the girl below him. "Why?"

"Because…" her face turned a pretty said of pink as she once again turned her head away from Kazuma. "Because while I'm fine with the guards scolding me for doing what I do – it's their jobs to protect the town, so it makes sense to me – what I'm not okay with is my friends getting in trouble or even hurt because of it."

Damn it, he couldn't be mad at her after that. Kazuma scratched his head as he thought of something to say to the Arch-Wizard's confession. "I don't suppose that means you'd be willing to learn other spells?"

"Never." Megumin said as soon as the question was asked, and the party leader was relieved to see his friend relax.

"Didn't think so." He shivered when a sudden gust of cold air came out of nowhere, reminding Kazuma that Winter was just around the corner. "We're going to need to get some warmer clothes this week. Nothing we have is suited for the cold." He moved to put the girl on his back, only to pause halfway when she tugged on his arm and gestured towards his green mantle.

"M-may I b-b-borrow this?" Megumin's entire body was shaking, and it was very obvious she was trying hard not to let her teeth chatter. Damp clothes and a sudden shift in temperature could take the Arch-Wizard down faster than mana depletion ever could.

"Sure," he unclasped the article of clothing and wrapped around her slender form, before picking her up piggyback style to begin the walk home, "but I don't think another piece of damp clothing is going to help."

"It's another layer at least." Megumin argued, hugging herself closer to his back.

"In fact," he moved his head so he could look at her with a mischievous look. "I think you're supposed to take wet clothes off when it's cold out."

She mumbled something under her breath – that sounded a lot like "pervert," – while moving her hand to tug on Kazuma's ear.

"Your hands are freezing!" he yelped, leaning away in a futile attempt to escape her icy fingers.

"It's not my fault. It's cold."

"Here." Kazuma had the Arch-Wizard wrap her legs around his waist, freeing his hands so they could wrap around hers. He then rubbed their palms together, cupped them, and breathed some warm air onto them. "Better?"

He felt her shiver once more. "Y-yeah, a little."

"Good," he tried to let go, but was surprised when Megumin quickly intertwined their fingers, making the friendly gesture feel a lot more intimate than Kazuma was planning. "Eh, Megumin?"

"Don't let go please. They'll get cold again if you do."

"A-alright." Kazuma momentarily stuttered, getting control of his voice, he continued. "If you say so." He kept his head forward so she wouldn't see the red making its way up his neck to his cheeks, unbeknownst to him was that Megumin's face was a similar shade of red.

"The cold weather is going to ruin the garden back home."

Kazuma felt his eyes go wide at the statement. He hadn't even thought of that when they were planting it. They were only now starting to sprout, but this sudden shift in temperature might be enough for the sprouts. "Well that sucks, we didn't even get to see it grow that much."

"It's not a big deal." Megumin continued, moving their hands to rest on his head, gently rubbing it as if he were a small child that needed consoling. "We can head over to that mage shop in town and buy a few heat lamps to place around the area."

"Heat lamps?"

"It's like a regular lamp, only with a special crystal inside that keeps a certain area around warm." Kazuma felt the girl move their hands through a wide variety of motions as she continued to explain the principles of how such objects were created, making him realize she was a very kinetic explainer. Lately he seemed to be noticing an increasing amount of small details about the Arch-wizard riding on his back.

Weird.

"How many do you think we'll need?" He asked midway through her explanation.

"Mmm… three, maybe four. The yard isn't that big, but the regular lamps don't cover that much area."

"Is there any way to get one that covers the entire area?" Kazuma asked, trying to look at Megumin, only for her to push his head back forward playfully.

"Don't want you to trip like last time."

He could imagine the way her lips would lift with amusement. His eyebrow twitched. "It was one, and it was raining which makes it that much harder to see anything!"

"But to answer your question, yes, we could get one like that, but the only way for that is to have it custom made at a shop, ordered from the capital, or make one ourselves." Megumin listed off, releasing his hands so they could be used to hold her legs up while her arms wrapped comfortably around his neck.

"I'm guessing every option you just said is much more expensive."

"Yeah. The surrounding case is simple enough to make, but the quality of crystal needed is much harder to get than the standard ones."

"Damn." But something about that sentence peaked his adventurer curiosity. "How do they get these crystals?"

"Naturally, which is very difficult to do unless you live around volcanos – where they form – or by making them."

His curiosity rose another level. "How do you make them."

"Umm… I'm not sure." She shrugged. "It's not a field of magic I was interested in. Rune crafting was one area needed, but there was one more. What was that name…? Ah! Crystal shaping!"

"Never seen those two skills used before."

"That's because Adventurers don't learn them, normally. The people who do use it only do so because they want to make a business surrounding it."

"Oh. Have you ever thought about becoming a teacher?" Kazuma asked out of the blue. Startling Megumin by the change in subject.

"Eh? W-why would I want to become a teacher of all things? I'm going to become the greatest Arch-Wizard! There's no room for anything else!"

Her leader laughed at that to which she glared at the back of his head, using a hand to pull his cheek.

"Owowowow, enough!" Kazuma swatted the hand away. "It's not an insult, damn it! You just like to ramble on about all these different subjects that I thought you had fun teaching people things. You're pretty good at it anyway. It probably wouldn't be that difficult for you if you decided to change careers."

It wasn't something she had considered, but Megumin wouldn't deny that the idea had some appeal to it. It was surprisingly easy for the young Arch-Wizard to picture herself back at her village, teaching the next generation the beauty and allure of Explosion magic. She wanted to hear him say it again – just to be sure. "You think so?"

He nodded, his hair tickled her cheek, making her giggle. "Yeah, you're surprisingly smart."

Megumin's smile, and entire demeanor, changed to become something very dangerous. "What's that supposed to mean?" Her tone alone was enough to send a nervous tingle down Kazuma's spine.

His mind screamed at him to correct the misunderstanding before things got worse. "W-w-what I meant was that you're really smart despite so young!" Kazuma held back a grimace at how he squeaked out the sentence.

"I see." Megumin's voice was neutral, revealing nothing about what she was thinking. "Thank you for the compliment."

Nothing else was said between the two as the main city gates came into view, but as they passed the giant structure itself, Kazuma nodded to the guards in greeting as they did the same, he decided to ask something. "Want to head over to that magic shop later? If we're lucky the old lady will have some lamps for us to buy."

"Could we get some winter gear as well?" She requested hugging his mantle tighter around her body. "Kyouya might be willing to chip if we do some shopping for him as well."

"It would be great if he does. Between paying the debt and everything else, we barely have much in terms of spending money."

"We could always take on more quests." Megumin's eyes lit up at the thought of blowing away legions of enemies with her magic. Kazuma had to shake her to get the girl to focus again.

"Not happening." Kazuma shook his head, and remained firm in his decision when she tried to protest. "We're lucky enough that Clemea, Fio, and Kyouya let us do quests with them, because every time we try to do one it ends up with us being eaten by _something!_ "

"It does not!"

"Two words. Giant. Frogs."

That shut her up real quick.

"So just do me a favor, and do a quest unless I'm going with you. Alright?"

"Why just you?"

"Let's be honest. Out of everyone in that house, I'm the only one who's always going to be by your side, ready to pick you up after you use your explosion magic."

Damn it why the hell did he have to say stuff like that? Blood was rushing to her cheeks and she had to do everything in her power to keep her voice steady just for one word.

"Ok."

"You promise?" and even though she couldn't see his face directly, it was easy enough for the Arch-Wizard to picture his eyebrows drawn together in those rare moments where he was truly serious, the slight wrinkle in his nose as he struggled to maintain that look – it wasn't natural for him, and the slight concern his eyes would convey if you knew where to look.

Megumin smiled. Leaning forward so she could press her cheek against his, and whispered softly so he would be the only one who heard her. "I promise, Kazuma."

* * *

This was, without a doubt, the worst mission Kyouya had ever been on.

"Darkness, please stop charging towards the enemies so recklessly!" The Sword Master called out even as he blocked an undead's attack. He watched as the woman in question ignored his command, and dived into the middle of a large group of undead.

"I cannot do that. It is my role as a Crusader to take all of my party's punishment! No matter how much it may violate me!" Darkness declared, receiving blow upon blow by the enemies. Her armor began to chip off from the abuse, but her face conveyed satisfaction instead of worry. "Is that all you've got?!"

But the attacks ceased when the undead were destroyed by Kyouya launching two, blue arcs of power from Gram. The group was decimated, and the teen was by her side in an instant. His armored hand grabbed her arm, and he began pulling her towards the top of a hill where Fio was yelling to them. Darkness, however, did not prove to be very cooperative.

"NO!" the Crusader dug in her heels, and looked back towards the direction they came from that was now occupied by a rampaging group of undead warriors. Kyouya nearly recoiled at the look of desire aimed at the monsters. "I cannot abandon the frontlines no matter what! It is my duty to be used as a wall to guard my allies!"

"There's – no – time – for that!" Kyouya grit his teeth as he struggled to move the incredibly strong woman. Gram began to glow red as he used its power to win this impromptu tug-of-war. "Fio's already set the traps, and we'll get caught in the blast if we don't get into position with her!"

"I'm ok with that."

 _Of for the love of…_ he suddenly removed his hand from her arm, and Darkness – not expecting this – began to fall backwards as a result. Halfway to the ground, the Sword Master appeared with his blade nearly blinding her with how bright it was and caught her in his now outstretched arms.

"Forgive me for saying this," Kyouya said with shaky knees, "…but you are really heavy."

"I-I-I am not!" Darkness argued, completely flustered at the accusation. "You m-must be lacking in muscle is all!"

"Kyouya, Darkness, the traps are about to go off!" Fio called out once more, wringing her hands together in worry.

It was a good thing that Kazuma was not there, because he would have been screaming his head off about triggering another flag.

Ice and electricity erupted from behind the armored duo, and Kyouya didn't need any more reasons to start running towards his party member. To his left he watched a group of skeleton archers burn into ash as a wave of fire emerged at their feet, and to his right a horde of goblins screamed in pain as electricity arced across their bodies.

A troll broke through a rock-wall that had emerged to surround it, and made a beeline towards Kyouya with a club – twice as big as the adventurer – raised above its head. It didn't make it ten feet before it fell over dead with an arrow sticking between its eyes.

"Thanks Fio!" Kyouya said as he finally reached the girl's side.

She smiled at him, making an affirmative noise as well, before raising up her bow once more at another monster that was charging at them through the magical traps. "Snipe!" She called out the skill as she released the arrow, watching with relief as it took down the target. "Snipe! Snipe! Snipe!"

It was satisfying to watch the creatures fall thanks to his party member's skills. Under normal circumstances, Kyouya would have complimented the girl on her aim. But there was one variable that was throwing everything out of order.

And it wouldn't stop squirming in his arms.

"Would you please put me down?" Darkness politely requested, refusing to look him in the eyes.

"No."

"Why not?!"

He glanced down at her with a knowing look. "Because if I did, you would just run back into that." Kyouya pointed towards the chaos even though the woman couldn't see the extended finger.

"What makes you think that?!" She demanded, giving Kyouya the full force of her glare.

 _It's not as scary as Clemea's,_ he thought to himself. "Kazuma was very detailed when it came to instructing me how to deal with you during quests."

"'Deal with me,'" she repeated. Slowly, ever so slowly, Kyouya watched as the Crusader's face grew more and more shocked, until finally…

"What's that supposed to mean?!"

Kyouya sighed, trying his best to calm Darkness down as Fio continued to, almost singlehandedly, take care of the quest. _Perhaps I should've joined Clemea and Aqua-sama to relax at the guild. It would have been nice to spend some time with them._

KO-NO-SU-BA!

 _This is ridiculous._

Clemea shook her head as she watched the Arch Priest enthrall the entire guild with a simple party trick.

"How someone like her wields enough power to rival a Demon General is beyond me."

She had to agree with the severed head that was also watching the spectacle. The two of them were resting at a nearby table with a single plate of food – stacked to absurd heights with toad meat – to share between them. Clemea had tried to watch Verdia eat, if only because she was getting tired of everyone cheering on that spoiled brat, but no matter what, he seemed to only consume the food when she wasn't looking.

It's like he could sense when she was or was about to look at him.

"Remind me, how _did_ you lose to that group?"

"I severely underestimated their power, and was not expecting the child to figure out my weakness in the duration of one battle." Verdia admitted freely, sparing only a glance to her before gazing back at Aqua. "If nothing else can be said about them; it's that they can pull off the impossible."

Clemea made a noise of acknowledgement – still having her doubts however. "You could also say Aqua knows how to entertain a crowd."

At that, Verdia let out a bark of laughter. "Indeed, that woman may be horrible in battle, but she is a great entertainer!"

Never in her wildest dreams did Clemea see herself having a civil conversation with one of the Demon King's Generals. Nor did she ever think Kyouya would open up his house to – what essentially was – a complete group of strangers. And above all of that, she _never_ thought that she would enjoy it.

Sure there were several hiccups along the way: her initial distrust, the living arrangements, not to mention the chaos that seemed to follow that group like a starving vulture towards a dying animal, but despite her best efforts, they had somehow dug their way into her life. They sure as hell weren't leaving it anytime soon.

Aqua was without a doubt the most annoying, childish, and stubborn girl she had ever known, but she was full of so much life and energy that Clemea couldn't help but smile and sing along as she and Aqua worked on their laundry together from time to time, and end up laughing outright at Aqua as she forgot what they were singing halfway through and make something up because of it. If she tried to come up with an excuse not to go along with the group for dinner at the guild then Aqua would get right up to her face with that exaggerated pout of hers and complain nonstop until she finally gave in. It was weird to think of her as anything more than an overgrown - lovable - child

And just like a child, she was the most annoying thing that existed on the planet.

Megumin was the little sister she never knew she wanted. Passionate about her dreams at becoming the world's strongest mage with nothing more than her explosion magic – something that both Clemea and Fio found absolutely adorable – while trying to act mature when it came to performing chores around the house, she had a hard time resisting the urge to affectionately pinch the girl's cheek. She would definitely get chewed out for it, but Clemea was finding more and more reasons to do it every day.

Darkness… well, she had her eyes on that woman. Kyouya had been glancing in her direction with a weird look for the past couple of days, and she didn't like that. Until that mater was cleared up, Clemea would hold off on passing any judgements.

She still thought that creep Kazuma was a pervert, and if he tried anything on her, or worse, Fio, she would cut off his hands. Consequences be damned.

"Nature's Beauty!"

She looked up to see the entire guild cheering as Aqua's party trick caused two different plants to grow out of the cup on her head.

Scoffing at the sight, Clemea crossed her arms and looked away with an upturned nose. As much as she liked her, watching Aqua perform the same trick over and over, and still get such a reaction, rubbed her the wrong way. She just didn't know why.

"Are you jealous?" Verdia asked suddenly.

Feeling defensive – not to mention confused, because that plate had a lot less food on it now – Clemea replied quickly. "Why would I be jealous?"

"Because that Arch Priest is getting more attention from a simple party trick than you ever have despite all of your accomplishments."

Wow. That… that was not what she was expecting. She really didn't have a reply to that. Verdia took her silence as an answer though.

"It wouldn't be wrong if you did."

"Why do you even care? Last I checked, you only look after yourself."

"I do." Verdia answered honestly. "But after several weeks of having little to no power of my own, being carried around like some glorified trophy, and being threatened by the very girl we were talking about a second ago, I can honestly say I'd rather see you all get along rather than exchanging passive-aggressive insults with each other. It would certainly make this living hell a little more bearable."

Clemea opened and closed her mouth several times, only to find that she had no words to say to the General. None that would really matter at least.

"We make one hell of a group, don't we?"

Verdia finally gave her his full attention, and Clemea had a feeling that he was smiling at her.

"We?" he questioned, his voice full of mirth.

"Oh don't get me wrong, I don't trust you in any way shape or form, but in terms of conversation partners, you're not that bad."

"That's sweet, but why don't you do us both a favor and go over there and show that Arch-Priest how it's done?" Verdia's red eye widened in fear, and he barely hopped away as a small stream of water landed where he used to be. "Watch where you're aiming that!"

"It must have slipped during the casting." Aqua said with an innocent shrug. The dark look in her eyes and the disappointed twitch of her lips told Clemea otherwise. "Maybe you should be more careful."

"Aqua," Clemea stood up, immediately getting the girl's attention. "Would you mind teaching me that skill?"

Within an instant the Arch-Priest was in her personal space, her eyes glowing as bright as the stars in the night sky. "Really?" She asked, excitement radiating from her body.

Placing her hands on the girl's shoulders, Clemea took a step back so there was some distance between them. "Calm down. Calm down." She instructed. "All I need is for you to give me the name of that skill one more time."

Aqua did so, and the warrior was glad she had some spare skill points to spend on the skill.

"Now here, use this!"

Clemea took the fan Aqua handed her, before being pushed up towards the corner where she was met with a guild full of expectant eyes. Somehow, Aqua had moved to the back of the area so she was the only one they could focus on. She was giving her two thumbs up, and Clemea rolled her eyes with a smile.

 _Here we go._ "Nature's Beauty!"

Nothing happened.

"Huh?" She shook the fan a few times and tried again. "Nature's Beauty!"

This was wrong. This was wrong on so many levels. More than that it was just plain unfair. This had to be, without a doubt, the simplest spell to perform. It was a damn party trick for crying out loud!

"Nature's Beauty!"

Something happened this time, and it was worse than nothing.

A small, pitiful trickle of water came out of the fan, but all it did was drip down off the object to form a puddle at Clemea's feet.

Never before had something mocked her more than that puddle did.

The entire guild began to roar with laughter.

"Ne, Ne, what's the matter with this thing?" Aqua asked, having appeared next to the embarrassed warrior out of thin air to take the fan out of her hands. Clemea was sure she didn't know any teleportation magic, so how did she get here so fast?

And above everyone else's laughter, she could hear Verdia's as he rolled around the table without a care in the world. Bastard. She would make him suffer later.

"Why isn't it working Aqua?" Clemea had seen it done over a thousand times now, knew it required little to no mana to work, and it was a damn party trick! What could she possibly be missing?

"Perhaps you weren't putting enough heart into it?"

 _Heart?_ That – that had to be the stupidest reason she ever heard. It was, and she couldn't emphasize this enough, a damn. Party. Trick! "What the hell does that even mean, Aqua?"

The Arch-Priest chewed on the corner of her lip as she looked away from Clemea, trying to either figure out how to explain what she just said or make something up so it didn't seem like she didn't know what was going on.

"I think… it only works when you want to entertain people with it."

It almost sounded like a question, and she Clemea figured Aqua really didn't know what was going on. It made her sigh. "Can't even do a damn party trick of all things. Fight a monster? No problem. Hunt for food and cook? Easy. But a try to do something stupidly simple like this? And I get a great big load of nothing."

"Maybe you just need practice?" This time it was a question, which told her better than any explanation could that maybe she wasn't cut out to entertain people like this. "Not everyone can do what I do."

 _You mean be useless?_ It was mean, but there was truth in that thought. Aqua was unreliable when it came to actual combat, and even simple housework became tedious when the girl messed something up. Clemea might like her, but in no way, shape, or form did she ever want to be her. She would rather be useful and trusted rather than loved.

And just like that, the jealousy that Verdia had accurately identified had vanished. They were who they were, and Clemea smirked as she remembered how devious she could be. "Maybe you should include Verdia in your next set of tricks. I think he might be lonely over there."

Aqua blinked, before smiling a sickly-sweet smile that sent a shiver down her spine.

Both of them looked towards the former General, who immediately stopped laughing when he _felt_ their gazes on him.

 _I suddenly regret coming here with them._

KONOSUBA!

"These ones over here look like they'll be ready to grow something in another week."

Megumin looked over towards Fio as the girl leaned in close to one of the many plants, examining it with wide, excited eyes. She smiled, feeling a similar sense of delight at seeing the garden grow so successfully.

"It was a good thing the cold didn't last more than a couple hours, it might have killed some of the plants if it did."

"That would have been horrible!" Fio placed both hands along the stem of the plant in-front of her, almost cradling it as she began to whisper to it. "Don't worry little one, we'll take good care of you."

Walking over until she was behind the girl, Megumin leaned forward with her smile only growing bigger. "I don't think it can understand you."

"You don't know that!" Fio turned her head back to look at the Arch-Wizard. "I heard that plants will grow better if you're nice to them. Even more so if you mean it."

"Where did you hear something like that?" Megumin walked towards the other end of the garden to examine a vine plant that looked a little pale compared to its companions. It had the flowers on it just like all the others, so it was still alive. _Maybe there aren't enough nutrients in the soil over here._ She made a mental note to have someone – maybe even herself – spread some fertilizer around this area within the next couple days.

Realizing she had zoned out during the examination, the Arch-Wizard shifted her focus back onto Fio just in time to hear her finish a story. Noticing the warrior giving her an expectant look, Megumin racked her brain for something vague enough to sound like an honest answer.

"I see…"

Fio gave a small pout at that, obviously hoping for a different answer. "Well I still think it's worth a try."

She coughed into her hand to disguise the laugh that would have surely offended the girl. "I didn't say you couldn't do it, I just think it's weird is all." Despite saying that, Megumin still decided to gently pet the pale plant. It wouldn't hurt trying at least.

"We're back!" Kyouya called out as he and Kazuma walked out of the house, a lantern with a red crystal in it in each of their hands.

"How did it go?" Megumin asked, walking towards her party leader while gazing at the objects with slight fascination. "They weren't too expensive, were they?"

"Surprisingly no." Kazuma replied, holding out one of the lamps for her to grab.

"The shop you recommended was very nice." Kyouya complimented. "The owner there was very generous, she even offered us a discount!"

"Why did she do that?" Fio took one lamp from her party leader, and moved towards one of the corners to set it up. Although, setting it up was as simple as placing it down in a designated spot.

"We buy stuff there often." Megumin answered as she set her lamp down. "I guess she just likes us."

Once all of the lamps were placed, everyone out in the yard felt the area get a few degrees warmer. The nice temperature and setting sun gave Fio an idea.

"Let's have a picnic out here!"

The four of them unanimously agreed on the idea.

"I can help Megumin cook while you two get move some of the furniture outside!" Fio didn't wait for an answer before heading back into the house.

"Give me a second to change then." Kyouya said to Kazuma as he too entered the house.

Both Kazuma and Megumin sighed, but instead of exasperation like it normally was, it was filled with a pleasant feeling, one that made them feel right at home. A short gust of wind came by, but the lamps did their job and warmed the air immediately on contact, turning what would have been a biting chill into a gentle caress. Kazuma had a hard time finding a word to properly describe how he felt right now.

He looked over towards his explosive companion, just in time to see her move some stray hair behind her ear. Kazuma blinked. Her eyes were closed and there was a gentle smile on her face, and he realized she must have been feeling the same thing he was.

Megumin must have felt his gaze, however, because she turned towards him – still smiling – with a questioning look. "What?"

"Nothing." He shrugged. "It's just nice out here."

She hummed in agreement, and the two of them decided to go inside themselves to get started. "How much longer do you think Aqua, Clemea, and Darkness will be gone?"

"No idea, they said they were going to get some winter gear for everyone, but I don't know how long it will take them to do that. Especially since Aqua will want to try out a lot of things before she comes to a decision."

"Ah," Megumin nodded. That made sense.

They were almost to the door, and she felt a strange impulse to do something, _anything_ , to keep this conversation going just a bit longer.

"Do you want anything in particular?"

Kazuma's hand halted on the door's handle. "Huh?" he asked, looking back.

"Dinner. Do you want anything specific?" Megumin used all of her willpower to keep the blush threatening to make itself known under wraps.

He thought about it for a moment before giving her a simple shrug. "Not really."

She deflated a little at that.

"Everything you make is really good."

Megumin looked back up with wide eyes just to see Kazuma's back as he entered the house. Her smile came back in full force, and she allowed a little pink to dust her cheeks this time around. It was nice to know he liked her cooking.

"If he is not going to take up your offer, then I would gladly like to request some tea be served with this meal."

A yelp made its way out of her lips as the girl whirled around to see Verdia staring at her from his spot on the scarecrow.

"W-what?"

"Tea." The head repeated, his voice devoid of any form of mockery like she thought it would. "I know I've been requesting nothing but alcohol in our time together, but I feel as if it is time to try something new. Who knows? It might even help me relax."

Megumin stuttered as her brain was slow to process this for some reason.

"I don't think it's a ridiculous request." Verdia continued. "It's actually pretty trivial compared to what you were offering."

She took a breath to organize her thoughts, and came to a decision. "You know what? I'm actually in a good mood right now, so fine, you can have some tea."

Megumin grabbed his head, and together, the two of them entered the house.

"I'm choosing the tea though."

"I can accept that."

* * *

 **And it's done! _  
_**

 **A little more day to day stuff for the group to deal with this chapter, something that seems way more difficult for them to complete than it should. Some more interaction between Kazuma and Megumin then I had originally planned, but I like what I came up with. All in all, another chapter that could have happened in-between episodes. I'll probably use the next chapter or the one after that to tie this series back to the back, with some alterations of course.**

 **Nothing else to say really, I'll try to be faster on updates but I can't really promise that.**

 **Have a wonderful day!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Three damn months. I'm sorry it took so long to get this out to you all. I have good reasons though: my sister had a kid, I went camping for some time, I had to work extra shifts to make up for that vacation, I found out I have a half-sister - that one really surprised me, and then school started of things. But it's finally done!**

 **This is the last 'slice of life' chapter before we get back to the main story. Which is why it's a little shorter than normal. Anyway, enjoy!**

Chapter: 6

"YEOW!"

The scream echoed throughout the hut as Miko continued to apply a healing salve to Verdia's bright red back as he sat on a chair, leaning forward on the chair's back so his friend had easy access to the burn spots. Kyūdō, meanwhile, casually leaned against the wall with a towel draped on his shoulders.

"I told you this would happen." Miko said, wincing in sympathy.

The three friends had decided to take a short vacation at the girl's home village. It wasn't a very large village, but it was known to be a frequent stop for wandering travelers. The people there were very welcoming, but not overbearingly so like the Axel fanatics were, and the seafood, caught from the nearby lake, was cooked to near perfection. It felt like home to all that came there, but Miko was one of the few people that could say it was home.

"Maybe you should just let him suffer." Kyūdō finally spoke, using the towel to dry off his hair. "That should teach him not to spend hours out in the sun after wearing his armor for who knows how long."

"Bite me." The Sword Master growled, only to hiss when the Arch-Priest applied more salve to his shoulders. "I haven't been on a beach in years! Is it really so surprising that I was more excited about going swimming then being worried about getting sun burned?"

Kyūdō looked up at the ceiling as if he really had to think about it. "Not really," he looked back at him with a smirk, "you are a dumbass in that way."

"Hush, both of you." Miko ordered gently, but firmly, sending a disproving look towards her leader. She finished her work in silence and only when the last of Verdia's red skin was covered did she finally stand up, moving towards the nearby sink to begin cleaning her hands. "Stay out of the sun for the rest of the day, Verdia, and don't put on a shirt. You should be able to peel that salve off by night, but until then-"

"-leave it on and don't do anything I would normally do." He finished glumly, already making himself more comfortable on the chair.

She paused, turning back towards her friend with a frown. "Verdia, that's not what I-"

"I know it's not." He gave her a sad smile. "It just sucks, you know? Haven't been on a vacation in almost a year, and the now that we are on one, I can't even enjoy it properly."

"Oh don't be so dramatic, we'll still be here for another three days." Kyūdō inserted himself into the conversation, not wishing to go through Verdia's little pity party he decided to throw. "Just take the day to relax and we'll properly start it off tomorrow," he walked towards the door, rubbing his partner's hair on the way out – deftly avoiding the retaliating swat with a chuckle.

"And let me guess, you're going back out to enjoy the town?" Verdia mocked, but the twitch of his lips told the other two he was trying not to smile.

"Damn straight I am! Also, Miko's coming too."

"I… am?" the girl asked, placing her glasses back on. While she wasn't opposed to giving her leader a tour of the village, she also didn't want to just leave Verdia alone.

"I'm not going to let you sit around watching over his sorry ass." Kyūdō ignored the Sword Master's offended 'Oi!' "Now come on, you're on vacation too, and I want to know where the best spots to take a nap are."

"We have _beds_ to sleep on!" Verdia called out. "You don't need to take naps!"

"Say's you." He replied with a snort.

"…Bastard." Verdia muttered as he watched his friends leave, Miko at least made sure to wave before going. He sighed, and placed his chin on his crossed arms. "Well, so much for getting to hang out with Miko today."

Despite everything, he was still excited. In two days time the village would be having a festival celebrating the day it was founded. There would stalls offering a wide variety of food and activities for anyone to try, lights and decorations strung about all over the place, and in the center of it all would be a massive stage for people to dance to the village's brand of music. Although he hadn't worked out all the details yet, Verdia knew that would be the night he tried to let Miko know how he really felt.

Worst case scenario being she doesn't return his feelings and they continue with their adventure. It would suck, but he could live with it so long that they stuck together. Those two were all he had now.

* * *

"Would you just _relax?_ He's going to be fine."

"I know he will be," even as she said it, Miko chewed on the bottom of her lip anxiously, feeling horrible about spending half the day out and about while her friend suffered quietly inside.

Kyūdō would argue that there was nothing quiet about it.

"I'm going to ditch you if you keep zoning out like that."

"I wasn't zoning out." She refocused on the task at hand – that being to show her leader around the village. "What else do you want to see?"

Her leader placed a hand on his chin, and looked up towards the sky. "We've seen the beach, the main square, most of the restaurants, a couple lodges, the incredibly small guild hall… what else is there?"

"The hot springs hidden in the forest?" Miko suggested.

"We can do that later," he dismissed, knowing full well Verdia would throw a fit if he knew they went somewhere like that without him – the man loved hot springs. "Is there a place where I could shoot a couple arrows?"

She thought about it for a second before shrugging. "Maybe? I feel like there was, but I can't remember it right now."

"Damn," he muttered under his breath. Seeing a group of girls walking by, he put on a charming smile and waved at them.

They blushed and waved back.

Turning back to the Arch-Priest, Kyūdō waggled his eyebrows suggestively. "Think I've got a shot?"

"I think we both know the answer to that." Miko sighed while shaking her head. Kyūdō gave her a sly look.

"Now, now, no need to be jealous, you know I love you."

"Ha, ha." With a wave of her hand, Miko conjured a small ball of water that she tossed at her leader's face, making him cough and sputter in surprise. Holding her head up high, Miko continued onward with confidence. "Now come on. I just remembered where that place was."

Annoyed about the impromptu head soaking, but much more curious about what his friend had in mind, Kyūdō followed along with a few quiet grumbles to show his displeasure.

They traveled together in silence, Kyūdō mostly working on getting the water out of his hair, again, while Miko continued forward with an excited leap between each of her steps. Whatever she had to show him it must have been good. Soon enough, the evenly spaced out huts were replaced by trees and rocks as the two of them traveled up a worn-out path. After traveling for what felt like an hour – when it was no more than half of that – the Archer and Arch-Priest reached the top of the path, and Kyūdō sucked in a breath as he looked at the sight before him.

"That's… wow."

"It's something else, isn't it?" Miko tied her hair into a ponytail so it wouldn't blow all over the place from the strong winds.

A canyon stretching for miles in either direction separated him and Miko from the other side where an equally dense forest grew. But what really drew his attention were the dozens of waterfalls decorating the entire other side as crystal clear water flowed calmly down to feed a river that surged through the valley with enough force that would make any person hesitate to travel down it. How had they missed something like this when it was so close?

The wonder wore off quickly – as it always did for him, and the Archer turned to the girl next to him to ask a question. "So how exactly am I supposed to challenge myself here?"

"I'm surprised you haven't noticed, you're usually the observant one." Miko pointed towards one of the many trees on the other side of the canyon, a twinkle in her eyes as she looked expectedly at him.

Narrowing his eyes in suspicion, the leader turned his eyes towards the direction she was pointing and looked for anything out of place. It took a full minute for him to spot what Miko was aiming at, and it brought a disbelieving smile to his face. "No way…" because on the very tree being pointed at were very rough circles carved deep into the bark, forming a natural target for him and anyone else wanting to test their skills.

It was after seeing the first one that Kyūdō noticed the other targets carved into multiple trees. The long distance, constant gust of wind blowing through, and hard to see targets would indeed test even the greatest of archers. Himself very much included.

"I gotta admit, four-eyes, I'm impressed." He used one hand to block some of the sun from his eyes and the other to pat the girl's shoulder.

"I'm glad."

They stayed that way a little while longer, Kyūdō excitedly looking around and finding more and more targets – some of which were hidden until wind blew some debris out of the way while Miko herself relaxed, closing her eyes letting out a quiet giggle every time the wind tickled her face.

"I'm grabbing my bow!" the Archer yelled out of nowhere, startling both the Arch-Priest and the nearby birds.

"Wha…?" Miko questioned, only to notice her friend was already sprinting down the path they came from. She sighed, half expecting this but still annoyed the guy couldn't sit still long enough to really enjoy the sights and sounds this canyon had to offer.

 _Maybe Verdia would appreciate it more._

KO-NO-SU-BA!

"FUCK!" Verdia screamed, slamming a hand over his mouth immediately after uttering the curse. Miko was usually lenient when it came to swearing, she had to be in their line of work, but there were certain words that she could not stand him and Kyūdō using, the one he just screamed at the top of his lungs being one of them.

He sighed in relief when the girl didn't show up to reprimand him. Gently lowering himself to a sitting position, Verdia glared at the broadsword he had taken from the General of the Demon King. The teal blade seemed to give off an unnatural glow during the last hours of twilight, sending shivers down the man's spine every time he used the weapon around this time. No matter how much he practiced with it, it always felt… _off_ to him.

As if the blade knew he wasn't its true owner.

It was equal parts aggravating and concerning.

 _I should get rid of it._ He was a Sword Master, if a thought like that ever popped up in his head, there was probably a good reason for it. _But it would be an awful waste,_ his mind continued suddenly. The anger from earlier faded as it was replaced with something else, something _powerful._

"Verdia!"

And just like that, the feeling vanished, leaving Verdia in a state of confusion as he looked towards the source of the noise and saw Miko walking towards him, clearly frustrated by the way her nostrils flared.

"Miko." He said as if they were greeting each other.

"What are you doing outside?" Miko demanded, ignoring the greeting in favor of scolding him.

He held the blade out to show her, and gave an innocent shrug. "Just practicing, I was getting bored in there."

"Despite me telling you to stay inside all day?" She wasn't outright mad at him for being outside, she would have been surprised if he did, but being the team healer was frustrating when her only two patients constantly put themselves at risk. Even if it was nothing more than a large sunburn at the moment.

Verdia held up his hands in surrender, dropping the blade on his foot in the process, causing him to start hopping up and down while holding the damaged appendage.

Miko sighed, it was always one thing or another with Verdia. "Sit down and hold still." The familiar green glow of a recovery spell already appearing on her hand as she reached out to place it on his foot.

"…Sorry."

She looked up, barely hearing the apology, and saw her friend refusing to meet her gaze. Miko reached out with her free hand, placing it on his cheek to tilt his head so they were making eye contact again. She kept the hand there so he wouldn't turn away.

"You don't need to apologize, you didn't do anything wrong."

Sapphires… That's the word he would use to describe her eyes as they warmly gazed at him. Verdia desperately wanted to tell her everything right then and there, but it wasn't the right time. He didn't how he knew that, but following his gut, Verdia did nothing more than silently nod to the Arch-Priest just so she knew he understood.

"Am I interrupting something?"

Verdia was going to murder that bastard for interrupting the moment. "No, Kyudo, Miko was just healing my foot is all," he said, moving his head away from the girl's hand. His face felt much colder without it there.

"How the hell did you damage your foot?"

"That's none of your business!"

Miko rolled her eyes as the familiar scene played itself out. Those two would argue till the end of time, she would scold them while simultaneously healing one or both, and together they would face and overcome every obstacle as a team. They were an unstoppable force of nature when working together.

"Say that to my face! I _dare_ you to say that to my face, bastard!"

"Oh, so you want me to lower myself to your level?"

For what felt like the millionth time today, Miko sighed as she continued to heal her friends foot, and chastise them both for arguing so much. She loved her friends dearly, but they were a handful.

* * *

The former General opened his eyes, having just woken up from a very deep sleep, to a bizarre sight. His usual spot on the scarecrow gave him a good vantage point to look out across the entire yard and some of the roof if he turned his head slightly. What caught his eye though were the two figures passed out in the middle of the area. Aqua and Fio.

Between them was a large bottle of, what Verdia thought was, alcohol. An empty bottle of alcohol, he corrected himself after taking a better look at the object.

"It's way too early for this."

Verdia turned his gaze towards the door, where he saw Kazuma – a cup of something in his hand – with both Kyouya and Megumin flanking his sides, looking towards the two unconscious girls with varying looks.

"What _happened?_ " Kyouya asked, having never seen Fio, and for that matter Aqua, in such a state before.

"Wake up Aqua!" Kazuma yelled out, completely ignoring the Sword Master's question while walking towards the Goddess so he could nudge her with his foot. "We have a quest involving undead, and you're coming with."

Despite the yelling and physical shake, Aqua was still slow to wake up, stretching out her arms while giving a big yawn.

"Ohiyo," she muttered, rubbing her eyes to get the sleep out of them.

"Don't 'Ohiyo' me, did you get Fio drunk last night?" Kazuma handed Aqua the cup which she took a large gulp of before actually answering him.

"Ah, much better." Aqua said, looking revitalized. Glancing over towards the still passed out Fio, Aqua hummed as she tried to remember what happened. "Maybe?" she finally said, shrugging to tell him she truly didn't know.

Megumin, who had been surprisingly quiet this whole time, kneeled next to Fio, and began to poke her cheek.

"How long do you think she'll be out?"

"Another hour at least if we leave her alone like this." The explosion manic was pleasantly surprised to know Kazuma knew that she was figuring that out instead of assuming she was just poking her friend for fun. "Three or four if we move her to her bed."

"Alright, we should probably let her sleep then." Turning towards the Sword Master, Kazuma pointed to Fio. "Do you mind moving her?"

"S-sure," Kyouya said, still a little confused on how this whole situation came to be.

Once that was all done, the group moved back inside where Megumin and Kazuma started to cook breakfast for those that were awake – the only ones still asleep were Darkness, who had stayed up several hours polishing her armor and sharpening her sword, while Fio slept away peacefully in her bed.

"So, what are we doing today?" Clemea looked at Kyouya, who was sitting at one end of the table glancing through the paper to see what kind of weather today was going to be, and then to Verdia as he waited patiently for the food to be served. Aqua was next to her, working on some kind of flower-looking object.

"I will be heading out with Aqua-sama and Kazuma to deal with the undead in the forest nearby. Megumin planned on going to the guild with Darkness to see what kind of quests are available. Fio is probably going to spend the day here by the looks of it." Kyouya grabbed his own mug and took a sip of it while still going through the paper, now looking for any interesting news or stories to keep himself busy for the time being.

Clemea quirked an eyebrow at that. "Nothing for me though?"

He shook his head and gave her an apologetic look. "Sorry, no, I would invite you to the quest, but the three of us are more than enough to handle it. You could join Megumin if you-"

"I wouldn't bother," the Arch-Wizard interrupted, popping her head out of the kitchen. "We'll be heading back as soon as we're done. We can do something after that, if you want."

"Megumin! Did you move the eggs? I don't see them in their usual spot." Kazuma's voiced echoed from in the kitchen.

The Arch-Wizard went back in to continue working on the meal. "It should be behind the milk. Did you look there?"

"She's so adorable in the mornings." Clemea smiled, and shook her head to focus back on the original topic. "Well, at least I have an option," looking over towards the silent General, Clemea asked him a question. "Anything you plan on doing today?"

"Not unless one of you is willing to carry me around."

Was it wrong to feel sorry for a former General? It was weird for Clemea to realize she actually felt bad that the undead didn't have a body anymore.

"Maybe I'll take easy today and tend to the garden."

"That would be great if you did!" Megumin called out.

Darkness came out of her room soon after, joining the group of three while rubbing the sleep out of her eyes much like Aqua was earlier.

"Good morning everyone." The Crusader muttered just before yawning.

"Tired?" Kyouya asked, already knowing the answer to that.

"Very," Darkness nodded, attempting to keep her eyes open. "Will breakfast be done soon? Food would definitely wake me up this morning."

"Almost done!" Kazuma confirmed this by bringing out and setting a couple plates stacked high with steaming food. The aroma caused everyone to pause what they were doing and just enjoy the smell, their mouths watering as they prepared to eat.

"Dig in everyone!" Megumin announced after placing the last plate of food.

They did so with gusto, devouring the food while some of them – mainly Clemea and Aqua – moaned in delight. Megumin beamed as she watched everyone enjoy the food, looking towards Kazuma, she saw him give her a thumbs up which she returned. Kyouya and Kazuma began to plan out their quest after some time, having enjoyed both seconds and thirds, Aqua and Darkness volunteered to do the dishes, and Clemea, Megumin, and Verdia talked about nothing in particular.

Verdia was the first one to actually leave, levitating himself out the backdoor where he would place himself on his usual perch. If that simply spell didn't cost so much mana, Clemea was sure he would have been able to move himself around freely. Although, he probably would have run away the first chance he got were that the case. Maybe not now, which she wasn't so sure about, but definitely in the beginning.

It took some time for the Arch-Priest and Crusader to finish, having also decided to clean up part of the kitchen as well, but when they did, the two groups with plans said their farewells to Clemea as they left her alone at the table.

"Well, I did say I would work on the garden."

After switching over to some work clothes and grabbing the tools in one of the closets, Clemea headed outside. She looked around once outside and saw the light amount of snow gathering on their neighbors' roofs. Winter was just a few weeks away, but it looked like it was getting an early start on the beginner town.

"The lamps are working splendidly." Verdia said, looking around from his perch.

"They sure are," Clemea agreed as she moved to grab the watering bucket, filled with Aqua's purified water, and begin the first task of watering the plants. "Water is your weakness, right?"

"It is."

"Then doesn't it bother you when it rains or snows?"

The body-less knight shook his head. "The only time it bothers me is when it is pouring out, and when that happens I can simply use the umbrella over there." He glanced over towards the object resting on the side of the building, and demonstrated what he meant by using the levitating spell from earlier to move it over his head.

"Ah," she briefly wondered who left it there for him, but figured it wasn't really important in the end. Deciding to switch subjects, Clemea asked a question that's been on her mind for a while. "You're really old, right?"

Although he didn't have any, Clemea was sure Verdia was looking at her with a raised eyebrow. "I am."

"Which means you've been through a lot, right?"

"A great deal, in fact."

"So, can you tell me a story?"

He blinked at the odd request, and then, against his will, Verdia smiled. "I suppose that would be alright. So tell me, have you heard the legend about the 'Valley Dragons?'"

The title alone was enough to get her a little excited. "I haven't."

"Well then, allow me to tell you. Centuries ago, the creatures of flight and fire were revered as valuable battle mounts. However, there were ones that no one had been able to tame. Known for their size, strength, and most of all, pride, these ones lived in the far north. I was tasked by the Demon King with taming one of them…"

KONOSUBA!

"She certainly seems to be enjoying this." Kyouya noted, standing next to Kazuma on a relatively tall hill overlooking the clearing below them.

"Yeah, undead are literally the only enemy Aqua wants to fight, and can beat." The Adventurer watched the spectacle with crossed arms. "To be honest, these are the only missions where that useless Goddess can get experience."

Said Goddess was currently battling a horde of undead, by herself, using all of her spells to defeat the creatures.

"Gods Requiem!" Aqua drove the staff into a particularly large undead, shattering its armor and disintegrating the creature in it. Turning around, the Arch-Priest performed three simultaneous "Turn undead" to eliminate a group that was charging at her. Aqua began laughing, a crazed look in her eyes as she began running towards another undead.

"Is there a reason she's like that?"

Kazuma shrugged. "Something about their presence irritates Aqua. She never explains it properly, so I'm just guessing here. Do you know any Arch-Priests that could explain it?"

"Not really." He shook his head, before looking up with a hand on his chin. "I have met a few during my travels, but I never stayed in contact with any of them."

"Damn."

"Kazuma!"

 _Oh no._ The Adventurer easily recognized the panic within Aqua's voice, and looking back towards her brought out an equal amount of fear. Behind the Goddess, who was running towards the two of them at full speed, was a group of undead warriors, their numbers being several times more than the previous groups. Kazuma felt a sense of déjà vu as he turned around to begin running away, only to remember who was standing right next to him.

So, grabbing Kyouya's shoulder to get his attention, Kazuma used his other arm to point towards the hoard, and screamed at the Sword Master. "What are you standing around for?! Do something!"

"I thought this was part of the plan." Embarrassed after realizing how stupid that was, Kyouya simply removed Gram from its sheath, before charging towards the monsters. Passing Aqua, Kyouya gripped his weapon – which was glowing blue now – with both hands, before swinging it with a battle cry. From the blade came a blue, crescent-shaped wave of energy that decimated all the undead with little trouble.

He smiled, and sheathed Gram before turning back to walk up the hill where Aqua stood, hands on her knees, panting while Kazuma looked like he was scolding the Goddess. It didn't take long for Kyouya to get within earshot, the Adventurer wasn't being quiet at all, and he shook his head with a smile as he heard the last of it.

"-blem if you would just focus instead of getting distracted by every undead you saw! How many times do I have to tell you to focus on the larger groups so they don't get overwhelming?"

"It's not my fault!" Aqua cried out, standing back up. "Those undead can't help but be attracted to my presence!"

"That's why you take out the large groups first!" Kazuma repeated, running a hand down his face, looking exasperated from the whole thing.

"Aqua-sama did take care of a large number of them beforehand." Kyouya felt like a mediator whenever the group began to argue. Not that he minded. It was kinda fun really. "But he does have a point, you should really try to plan ahead, especially if you already know more undead will eventually come."

Kazuma sighed, and relented to Kyouya's point. Aqua, however, was still Aqua.

"Huh? How am I supposed to plan for that?!"

He let out another laugh as she childishly waved her arms while continuing to pester Kazuma.

* * *

"What about this one?"

Megumin followed Darkness' finger towards the quest, and read over the description before shaking her head. "I don't think so, it's not too difficult and the pay is good, but its location is a couple days away. How about this instead."

Darkness mirrored her previous actions. "It doesn't pay well enough, and I'm the only one in the party who could deal with the hallucinations properly."

Megumin groaned as they failed to find a suitable quest. There were plenty of quests they wanted to do, but they needed the party leader's approval to take any of them, and both Darkness and Megumin knew Kazuma well enough to know which ones he would approve. The two of them could reserve the quest or quests with Luna's approval so they could go over them back home.

Darkness looked over the board one more time, before looking at the two quests they had already picked out. Kazuma gave the party a one rule when they were picking out quests without him: Always reserve at least three so they had options. They were just one shy, and it didn't seem like there was a third one to pick.

"Should we head back?" The Crusader asked.

"Let's ask Luna if there are any more quests we can look at." The Arch-Wizard suggested. Together, the two-party members did so, and were disappointed when there wasn't any.

Sighing in unison, Darkness and Megumin headed home.

"He won't be happy about the lack of quests." Darkness suddenly perked up with a blush on her cheeks, and an excited look. "Perhaps he will punish us for it!"

Megumin gave her a look. "Kazuma won't be mad," she said matter of fact.

Darkness' shoulders sagged in clear disappointment. "Oh."

"He'll probably be annoyed, not towards us, but at the lack of quests to pick from." Megumin continued, already picturing how the conversation will go. Noticing a familiar sign from the corner of her eye, the Arch-Wizard nudged her friend to get her attention. "Do you mind if we go shopping?"

"Not particularly."

"Great!" Megumin immediately made a beeline towards the store with Darkness right behind her. "Hello?" the girl called out upon entering the store and seeing no one behind the register.

"I'll be out in a moment." Came the reply from behind the door to the backroom. The door opened, and the old woman in-charge of the store came out with a smile on her face – it widened a little once she saw who it was. "Well hello dear. What can I help you with today?"

* * *

By the time the sun had set, and the moon was making its way high into the sky, the group had come back together to enjoy another home-cooked meal. Clemea and Megumin took turns making light jabs at Fio as she rubbed her temples with a groan, swearing to never drink so much ever again. Darkness, Kazuma, and Kyouya went over the day's earnings and adjusted their budget accordingly, taking occasional bits from their respective plates. Verdia spent the entire meal in fear as Aqua kept gazing at him with that look she seemed to reserve just for him. One that promised a very painful death.

The food was finished, dishes were done, and soon Kazuma, Megumin, and Verdia were outside where the young Adventurer was checking over the lamps, the Arch-Wizard checked the area Clemea went over – not that she doubted the girl's ability to tend to the garden, she just wanted to make sure. Verdia, meanwhile, made himself comfortable by levitating a blanket up to wrap around himself.

"How are they?" Megumin asked.

"Fine, as far as I can tell that is. Any idea how long these will last?"

She shook her head in response. Wiping a hand across her cheek, Megumin looked up towards the moon with a content look. "I really like it here Kazuma."

He had a sarcastic reply just ready to go, but when his eyes landed on the Arch-Wizard, bathed in moon-light, Kazuma suddenly felt his throat go dry. The pale light gave her an ethereal beauty that he had never noticed before.

"Kazuma, are you ok?"

A hand on his cheek brought Kazuma back to reality, where he saw his friend standing in-front of him. She was gently smacking his face, obviously trying to get the Adventurer's attention. "I zoned out, didn't I?"

Megumin removed her hand to cover her mouth to, unsuccessfully, stifle her laughter. "You've been doing that a lot lately, maybe you should go on a vacation."

"I would if I could, but we're currently several million Eris in debt right now, Megumin." Kazuma's smile disappeared, and his shoulders sagged as if he were physically carrying the debt. "At the rate we're going, however, I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon. Maybe I should get a real job, then we would at least have some form of stable income."

Kazuma's head whipped to the side, a red handprint burning his face. "Megumin, what the hell?!"

"Sorry, you were talking crazy." She shrugged, unapologetically.

He stared at her, a hand on his cheek and his jaw completely slack. She looked at him, an innocent eyebrow raised while both hands rested comfortably on her hips. Then they started laughing, leaning on each other for support while holding their sides. Neither really knew what made them laugh so much, but they were happy to be sharing it with each other.

Verdia watched the exchange in silence. How the two of them forgot his presence, he didn't know, but he would respect the moment they were sharing. The undead knew all-too-well how precious they could be, especially in this line of work.

 _Enjoy these moments while you can, child, because they could be snatched away just as quickly as they come._

* * *

 **Done!**

 **Another flashback to Verdia's past, a bit more slice of life for the main group, and that's about it.  
**

 **Next chapter shouldn't take as long, hopefully. Might be a bit emotional if I do it right. Anyway, I hope you all have a great day!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Yeah! Less than a month update! Honestly a little proud of myself for doing this so quickly, although, it's a chapter I've been wanting to do since I started this story. And now, I want to say thank you for everyone out there who's read, followed, favorite, and reviewed this story. It never fails to bring a smile to my face seeing people enjoy my work.**

 **And in response to one of my reviewer's, hikigaya, the flash backs to Verdia's previous life are completely made up by me. I've only watched the anime, so the only thing I have to go by is that he used to be an "honorable knight." Which is all I need really. I haven't read the Light Novels, so if more information is provided in those, I don't know it.  
**

 **Quick side note, for those of you who don't know, Dullahen - as far as I know - means "Headless rider/knight." Not the most important piece of information to know, but it does come up this chapter.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter: 7

"Yes! I've got six so far!"

"Thirteen for me! Now fourteen!"

 _This is way too easy._ Kazuma frowned as he sliced through another snow sprite, making it the seventh one he killed so far. Both parties had agreed to participate in the kill quest with Kyouya's party agreeing to give half of their reward to Kazuma's group. However, the longer the quest continued, the more Kazuma worried something _very_ bad was about to happen.

"Kazuma! Look how many I caught!" Aqua held out the jar – filled with snow sprites – like it was a trophy.

 _If the reward for each one wasn't so high, I would actually let that Goddess keep them._ He rolled his eyes, slicing through another sprite while everyone – save Aqua – did the same.

Darkness wouldn't actually hit any, and Megumin had yet to use her magic yet, so Kazuma was the only one in the group who was actively making money off this quest. Not that he was surprised by this, it was one of the reasons Kyouya's party being here was a blessing.

Wait… what was he thinking about?

"Kazuma, I'm going to use my magic." Megumin called out.

Distracted once again, the Adventurer could now only focus on clearing the area his friend was aiming at. "You're clear, Megumin!" he called out once everyone was behind him.

Streams of magical power swirled around the young Arch-Wizard as she began her chant. She twirled her staff, directing the energy towards the sky where multiple layers of glyphs of varying sizes formed. The spell never failed to mystify Kazuma. It was as if Megumin was putting a different piece of herself into each one.

When she was using it in anger, the magical streams swirled around chaotically, damaging anything they interacted with while the main Explosion itself caused far more fiery destruction then normal. During a moment of joy, the glyphs above gave off a calming yellow glow. If used in a time of pure desperation, the shockwave could hold enough force to knock down every object that wasn't nailed to the ground – even some of those were blown away.

"Explosion!" Megumin declared the spell's name while moving her staff in a downward motion.

Kazuma, out of pure muscle memory, leapt forward, arms outstretched to catch the falling wizard. Megumin allowed herself to relax her body as she fell backwards, knowing the Adventurer would be there in time. The spell detonated, and the shockwave it created launched Megumin's small frame towards Kazuma. Their bodies collided, causing the party leader to let out a grunt of effort as he planted his feet to prevent them from being blown away.

The others raised their arms to prevent any debris to hit their eyes, waiting for the wind to die down before lowering their limbs.

Fio was the first to respond when the chaos finally ended. "Wow."

Clemea followed suit by letting out an impressed whistle as she approached the now decimated land. Snow and grass were replaced with fire and soot, the nearby trees looked scorched and appeared to be partially uprooted, and the remaining snow sprites floated towards the area with a different look on their otherwise blank faces.

The Arch-Priest of the group focused less on the damage and more on the jars that were tied to her belt, making sure the sprites she had caught hadn't been killed by the shockwave. Aqua sighed in relief seeing they were all there.

Darkness wondered what being hit by that spell would've felt like, blushing as she began to fantasize while Kyouya, who was standing next to her, looked away, feeling uncomfortable around the Crusader when she was like this.

"That felt wonderful." Megumin gave a blissful sigh as Kazuma lowered them to a sitting position with one arm wrapped around her waist so she wouldn't slip out of his grasp while she kept one around his shoulders to remain upright. Feeling tired, Megumin moved her arm from Kazuma's shoulder to her lap instead moving her head to rest comfortable in the crook of his neck.

It felt great when one of his party members used their unique skills to the best of their abilities. "Nice explosion." Kazuma complimented, deciding now would be a good time to take a break. "How many sprites did you get?"

"Twelve," she mumbled, leaning further into the warmth he emitted. "I even went up a level."

"Nice!" he moved the hand around her waist to her shoulder where he gave it a gentle squeeze. The joy felt in that moment slowly dissipated as an unnaturally cold mist began to surround the group of seven. It began to swirl around the crater of the explosion spell, preventing the group from seeing anything in it. "What's going on?"

"What happens every time a large amount of snow sprites are killed." Aqua answered, surprising Kazuma who hadn't expected anyone – especially her – to actually have an answer. "You asked earlier why no one ever accepts the snow sprite kill quest."

"Huh?"

"You lived in Japan," she started, a knowing smile almost mocking him as the others around him began to get their weapons ready, "so I'm sure you've at least heard the name in the news and weather forecasts."

Both Kazuma and Kyouya shared a look at the mention of their old world, because what did that have to do with anything?

"He is the master of the snow sprites and is said to evoke the image of winter…" she paused dramatically, watching with satisfaction as they eventually came to the correct conclusion. "Yes, the Winter Shogun has arrived."

Her words triggered a flag.

The mist cleared away to reveal a kneeling figure in center of the crater. Its breath came out in blue wisps, and the snow sprites gathered around the spirit, chirping happily as it stood up to prepare to fight.

Kazuma broke the ensuring silence. "This is so stupid!"

Darkness came forward, sword drawn, standing protectively in-front of her friends. "I will not let anything happen to my allies, no matter what may happen to my body in the process!"

 _She couldn't have picked a worst time to do this!_ The Adventurer opened his mouth to scold the Crusader for her behavior – which would have made the situation worse in hindsight, only for the Winter Shogun to respond first by drawing its own sword, before charging towards the blonde woman with great speed.

Bringing up its blade to bare, the Winter Shogun prepared to slice through the Crusader with little trouble, but when it was less than five feet away from Darkness, it was forced to bring the blade back down to block Gram as Kyouya placed himself between the spirit and everyone else.

"I don't think I can beat this thing!" the Sword Master called out after exchanging several more attacks with the creature.

Surprising Kazuma once again, Aqua had the answer to this situation. "We don't need too." Pulling the lid off one of her jars, the Arch-Priest held the object high above her head, allowing the sprites to float away in full view of the Winter Shogun, who paused the assault upon seeing the mercy.

Bowing down, Aqua continued her explanation. "The Winter Shogun is very forgiving. Throw down your weapons and bow down, and he'll leave us in peace."

Scrubbing his eyes and taking another look, Kazuma – for the first time since arriving in this new world – smiled on in pride as the Goddess humbled herself. The pride quickly morphed into shock when he turned back around, because Darkness had ignored the order, and was now the only one still standing with her weapon out.

 _Damn it!_ Leaving Megumin's side, Kazuma ran forward to grab the back of the Crusader's head, and shove it into the ground in a makeshift bowing position. "Now is not the time to be doing this, Darkness!"

"Kazuma, your sword, drop your sword!"

He looked down towards his other hand, surprised to see he indeed had the weapon out. _When did I-?_

The Adventurer never had a chance to finish the thought.

* * *

 _Why did it get so quiet?_

For some reason, one that would traumatize her, no had said or done anything after Aqua said something to Kazuma. Her eyes remained closed as she tried to play dead – which was a little odd considering she was still in an upright position. Then there was a 'thud' close by her, right next to her actually, and something began to soak her legs.

"Megumin… keep your eyes closed." Clemea said, her voice oddly strained.

Why would she say something like that?

Curiosity won out in the end.

Megumin was slow to open her eyes – the exhaustion delaying her actions. The first thing she saw was crimson stained snow, matching the color of her clan's eyes. Weird, snow wasn't supposed to be red. The girl then looked around, where she saw Clemea and Fio looking at her with wide, shocked eyes, silently conveying something she couldn't interpret right now. What was going on? Darkness and Kyouya were still in-front, the Winter Shogun just ahead of them, sheathing his blade.

It was when Megumin looked down that she felt her entire world shatter.

"K-Kazuma?"

The blood was everywhere, soaking the land while running off just enough to reach her body, staining her white cloak and pant legs. His severed head was facing the horrified Arch-Wizard with a terrified look forever engraved on his face. Tears gathered in Megumin's eyes as she slowly reached out towards her friend, still not comprehending what was in-front of her.

"Kazuma?" It was when Megumin's hand touched the slowly cooling head of her friend that everything became clear.

It started with a heartbreaking sob, growing it both volume and pain until Megumin finally conveyed her despair with an earsplitting wail. Clemea and Fio were around her in an instant, hugging the girl as they desperately tried to comfort the girl. It did nothing to stop Megumin's tears, the cold weather freezing them as they fell.

"You killed him…" Kyouya whispered, the shock slowly giving way to something else. The Winter Shogun turned towards him, slowly drawing its blade once more. "You… BASTARD!" he roared, Gram erupting with purple flames as he dashed forward to slam the large sword down. Their weapons collided, and the force created a shockwave that blew away the nearby snow sprites.

"Damn you!" The Sword Master attacked the spirit in a blind fury, each strike sending waves of fire across the field, but despite the vicious assault and elemental boost, the Winter Shogun appeared to be having no difficulty defending itself. Kyouya jumped up into the air, coming down quickly with a battle cry unlike any other.

Sliding back, the Winter Shogun avoided the attack easily, watching impassively as the ground cracked around the teen with fire erupting from within those cracks. Kyouya looked up, ready to continue his assault, only to be forced to block the incoming strike from the spirit. It disappeared from his sight, and reappeared behind the Sword Master, who barely had enough time to whirl around and raise up Gram to block another mighty swing from the Winter Shogun. Growling in frustration, Kyouya attempted to push his opponent back to get some space and come up with a plan, but the spirit proved to be stronger as the Sword Master soon found himself being pushed back instead.

Digging his feet into the ground did nothing to slow down the Winter Shogun as it quickly gained speed, to the point where it was able to run full speed, slamming Kyouya into a tree.

 _Damn it!_ Kyouya internally screamed, ducking down to avoid meeting the same fate as Kazuma, ignoring the crash made when the tree toppled over from the spirit's attack. He jumped to the side a good distance and slashed down, sending a wave of fire in the hopes it would land. It was only now Kyouya realized he had yet to land a hit on the creature.

In his anger, the Sword Master failed to keep track of his environment, because when he moved to jump backwards he ended up tripping over an exposed root, falling and losing Gram in the process. He saw the Winter Shogun charging towards him, and prepared for the worse. However, before it could reach him, Darkness jumped in-front of Kyouya, her sword raised in a defensive stance.

The Winter Shogun proved to be too much, however, as it easily sliced through her sword like hot butter, knocking the Crusader back where she landed on top of Kyouya.

"Darkness, what are you doing?!" Kyouya screamed, both in confusion and anger.

"I am a Crusader," she said, the calmness of her voice momentarily snapping the Sword Master out of his rage. "It is my duty to act as a wall to defend my allies. I have already failed one, I will not fail another!"

Darkness reached over and grabbed Gram, discarding her sword in the process, before standing up to face the powerful spirit once more. The purple flames went out the second her hand touched the blade.

"You know you can't use Gram, I'm the only one who can!" Kyouya moved to stand up, only to find his body suddenly too drained to move any further than to prop himself up with his arms. "What the hell?"

"I know that, Kyouya. It wouldn't matter if I could anyway." Darkness looked back at him with a sad smile, "We both know I am incapable of hitting my opponents." She turned back to the Winter Shogun, the determination being displayed betraying the nervousness she felt. "But I do know how to block, and Gram will not break!"

That was all she could say before the Winter Shogun came forward to reengage the Crusader. Planting her feet and taking a more solid stance, Darkness raised Gram to block its strike, and almost cheered when she could successfully defend herself. Now knowing it would work, Darkness worked overtime to stop the spirit from getting past her. The ensuring battle was the very definition of an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object as the Winter Shogun unleashed a flurry of attacks while Darkness defended against each and every one, neither opponent moving from their spot.

Then, for no apparent reason, the Winter Shogun stopped its assault, jumping away from Darkness, who blinked in confusion, and sheathing its blade.

"Wha…?" the Crusader questioned. She looked around, thinking something else was coming to attack them, and instead saw the snow sprites floating towards the Winter Shogun.

It raised a palm where one of the adorable creatures landed. They seemed to share a conversation, the larger spirit nodding its head occasionally, before letting the smaller sprite go. It bowed to Darkness, and disappeared from their sights.

"Did we win?"

"No," Kyouya answered looking mournfully in the direction of the crying Arch-Wizard. "We definitely didn't."

* * *

"Would any of that be possible?" Kazuma eagerly asked the flustered Eris after listing off the ridiculous requirements for his new life.

"I uh… that might be a little out of my control." Eris finally said, trying to come up with some form of compromise.

"Either way, you have _no_ idea how much of a relief this is for me." Kazuma fell back on the seat provided for him with a light laugh. He gave the Goddess a large smile and continued talking. "This is my reward for trying my best, right?"

"Yes," Eris replied, a soft smile on her face after regaining her composure. "I watched your life from time to time myself. I believe you faced plenty of adversity in your short time here."

"You can say that again! I reincarnated into a new world thinking it was going to be a thrilling adventure, like a game. But I go into with a perk that was as useless as they get, recruited allies who failed to do anything more than cause problems for me, met another person from my world dealing with an identity crisis – made sure to deal with that as quickly as possible, and received a massive debt and annoying companion after defeating my first boss!"

Eris said nothing as Kazuma continued ranting, watching with mild fascination as moisture formed in the corners of his eyes, until they finally fell as tears.

"The previous world's balance was way off if you ask me." Kazuma didn't realize until the second tear fell that he was crying. "Huh?" he quickly wiped them away, but more continued to fall despite his best effort.

The Goddess raised her palm in his direction where a golden light began to emit from it. "May you be blessed once more with kind encounters."

"Um, before you… can I make a request?"

Eris lowered her palm slightly, the light fading partially in the process, and nodded her head with a smile. "You may."

"Can you… can you make sure my party doesn't get into too much trouble? They're horrible at dealing with enemies."

She raised her palm once more, golden light gaining intensity quickly. "I will, Satou Kazuma."

 _And to think, I was just starting to have fun in that good for nothing world._ Kazuma embraced the peace he felt from the golden light…

"Now, come back to us, Kazuma!"

Only for that peace to be shattered in an instant.

* * *

 _Please be ok. Please be ok. Please be ok._

Megumin had never been so anxious in her life as she watched Aqua perform the recovery spell to both reattach Kazuma's head to his body, and simultaneously bring him back from the dead – something she had forgotten the Arch-Priest could do. It was when she watched his eyes flutter open that Megumin felt her entire body nearly collapse in relief. Before anything could be said, she leaned down to wrap her arms around his body, and began to cry once more.

"Uh… this is a little embarrassing." The Adventurer leaned his head back down on Aqua's lap, being unable to do anything else for the time being.

"Ne, ne, you should say something else Kazuma." Aqua looked down at him with a smug gleam in her eyes. "Perhaps along the lines of thanking me for bringing you back?"

Kazuma's lips twitched. "Goddess, change!"

Everyone there blinked in confusion, Kyouya being the most confused of the bunch.

Aqua, however, was furious. "You damn NEET!" she was quick on her feet, taking an improvised boxer's stance while bouncing on her feet. "How about I send you back to your precious Goddess myself?!"

Darkness was quick to intercept the fist while Fio went behind the enraged Goddess to hold her back.

"Are you feeling all right?" Megumin asked while some of the others were dealing with Aqua. She was still worried there might have been some kind of side effect to the spell.

"Yeah." He answered while rubbing his neck.

She breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad."

"Can you move?" Kyouya kneeled down next to the two, his eyes clearly conveying concern. "Or do you need me to help?"

Kazuma waved off his concern, moving to stand up only to feel his legs give out soon after. Both Kyouya and Megumin were there to catch him, placing one of his arms around each of their shoulders.

"Maybe I need a hand." He admitted. "Guess I'm a little more exhausted than normal."

"Here," Clemea held out a bottle filled with green liquid. "This should help."

Kyouya took the bottle, uncorked it, and brought it up to his friend's lips. Kazuma drank the potion quickly, cringing afterwards at the bitter taste. It took a little bit for it to take effect, but once it did, Kazuma felt his strength return, allowing him to stand on his own.

"Thanks," Kazuma said to the three around him. Looking back towards the blood-stained snow, the Adventurer made a face as he rubbed his neck. "I think we're done here. Let's go home."

KO-NO-SU-BA!

"You've certainly had an eventful day." Verdia situated himself on the kitchen counter as Fio, Kazuma, and Megumin prepared dinner for the group. Clemea, Darkness, and Kyouya were heading over to the guild to receive their reward money while Aqua picked and watered the plants outside.

"Yeah," Kazuma muttered, rubbing his neck – a gesture that caught Megumin's attention. "Never going to take that quest again."

"Be happy that Aqua was there to bring you back. Not everyone is as lucky."

The Adventurer looked over towards the former General with a raised eyebrow. "You say that as if it happened to you."

"Of course it happened to me! How do you think I became Verdia _Dullahen?!_ "

"How the hell was I supposed to know you used to be alive?!"

"I'm an _undead_ , every undead on this planet used to be a living person!"

"I'm going to throw both of you out of this kitchen if you keep arguing like this!" Megumin interrupted, causing both men to look down in shame while muttering an apology. "Good. Fio, hand me those carrots please."

"O-ok."

They continued to cook in relative silence, only breaking it when Megumin instructed one of the others or with Verdia as he levitated various ingredients and spices to the group. Eventually, though, Fio was able to start up a conversation between the group of four where Megumin laughed at a lame joke Kazuma made, Fio cooed as the Arch-Wizard described her sister, and Verdia gave a snort when Fio talked about Clemea's secret fear of snakes.

"We're back!" Darkness called out, leaning into the kitchen with a smile. "Clemea will be back later, though. She said she was going to the local potion shop to get some materials."

"Did she say how late she was going to be?" Fio paused what she was doing – slicing the potatoes Aqua brought in in half – to turn around with the knife still in hand.

"Hey, watch where your swinging that thing!" Megumin shouted, eyeing the girl with a dirty look.

"Sorry!" the pigtailed girl quickly apologized.

"Why didn't she invite me?" Aqua demanded, appearing out of nowhere to get within Darkness' personal space with a pout on her face. "She knows I need to stock up on my own supplies!"

"I… erm…" Darkness took a step away from the Arch-Priest as she racked her brain for a proper answer.

"You could ask her yourself." Kazuma answered for the Crusader.

Aqua agreed with the Adventurer, leaving for the potion shop immediately afterwards.

Verdia shook his head with a sigh. "That woman is like an over…grown… why am I cold?" he looked to his side and blinked. "Why is there a snow sprite inside?" The winter spirit stared back at the General with a happy look, surprising him greatly.

"Aqua." Both Kazuma and Megumin answered with matching deadpan expressions.

"Ah." Verdia watched the creature as it floated around his helmet.

Fio was trying her best not to squeal with glee. Watching the snow sprite interact with Verdia was too cute. "It seems to like you."

"Which is odd considering I'm an undead." This somehow felt more humiliating than everything else so far. Which was saying a lot.

The snow sprite perched itself atop Verdia's helmet with a delighted chirp.

 _What have I done to deserve this?_

* * *

"Hmm…"

Clemea looked at different ingredients and herbs while enjoying the pleasant aroma floating around the store. The little potion shop was hidden down an ally way while the sign for said shop was stuck between two other, more extravagant, ones. Despite that, the store was relatively well stocked with common, uncommon, and sometimes rare ingredients sought after by people dabbling in alchemy.

 _I have been meaning to try out making poisons, maybe I should invest in a poison kit today. I do have quite a bit of pocket change after that snow sprite quest after all._ She moved over to where the gear was, and checked out prices and descriptions. _Oh, this one looks go-_

"Clemeeaaaaaaaa!"

The high-pitched cry startled the woman out of her investigation. She turned around just in time to see Aqua right before she tackled her to the ground, a large, exaggerated pout on her face.

"Aqua?!" she yelled out in surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"Why didn't you invite me?!" The Goddess answered with a question of her own, tears streaming down her face. "You know I needed to resupply!"

"But the last time I did that you complained that I took too long." Clemea said, trying to push the Arch-Priest off, only for her to cling on even tighter. "Aqua, please let go." Clemea felt her ears burn in embarrassment as the other shoppers watched the interaction.

"That doesn't mean I don't like hanging out with you!"

Blowing the blue strands of Aqua's hair out of her face, Clemea was able to pry the clingy girl off and stand them both up. "Then how about I promise to bring you with me every time from now on?" She raised a hand when she saw Aqua open her mouth. "However, you have to promise me you won't complain. Deal?"

The Arch-Priest nodded excitedly.

"Great."

They spent the next twenty minutes gathering various ingredients, and left together with smiles on both their faces. Until Aqua remembered an important fact.

"We're going to be late for dinner!" She grabbed Clemea's wrist and ran as fast as she could back towards the house with the protesting woman in tow.

KONOSUBA!

The next day found Kazuma in the mage shop where he was about to make a very important purchase.

"Finally buying the staff I see." The old woman said with a smile, watching as the Adventurer brought the black-ringed staff up to the counter. "I was getting worried you were never going to get it."

"Yeah… took a while to save up enough money again."

"And I'm glad you decided to spend it here!" She took the item, and tapped the butt end on the ground a few times. The staff began to glow bright white for a moment, fading away quickly afterwards. "There we go, ready to use."

Kazuma handed over the money, and took the item. "What was that?" he asked, looking over his new staff.

She shrugged. "A simple protection charm I made. It comes in handy when someone tries to steal something."

"Huh, neat."

The shop owner clapped her hands together. "Now, since this is your first big purchase, I'll throw in a free mananite crystal as well!" She procured a small, red crystal from the glass display to her side, and held it out for him to see.

"Mananite?" Kazuma asked, leaning the staff against the counter to get a closer look at the crystal that was no bigger than his pinkie. He picked up the object and examined it for a bit, before looking back at the old woman. "What does it do?"

"Nothing much, just adds a little more mana to whoever is using it. At least, that one will. There are bigger ones that you can get, but they aren't cheap, some are even more expensive than that staff."

"Seriously?" He glanced over the object one more time, before handing it back after having an idea. "Can you make this into a piece of jewelry?"

The shop owner took it back with a questioning look. "I can, but you don't seem like the type to wear accessories."

"That's because I don't plan on wearing it. Megumin has a nasty habit of casting Explosion magic without having enough mana for it, so she keeps falling over every time she uses it. Even if this doesn't mana boost it by much, hopefully it will be enough so she can at least move on her own."

A smile made its way onto the woman's face, because although he tried to play it off casually, she could tell the young Adventurer worried about his Arch-Wizard companion. "In that case, if you don't mind waiting around for a bit, I can have this done in a jiffy."

Kazuma nodded and made himself comfortable on a nearby bench.

* * *

"Again!" Verdia's rough voice demanded as a purple glow surrounded the former General.

Kyouya wiped away the sweat gathering along his brow while watching three new skeleton warriors appear in-front of him. Garbed in an ordinary set of armor with an equally plain blade to boot, the young man was currently training with Verdia as his instructor to gain a better understanding of what it meant to be a Sword Master. He was quickly realizing he didn't know a damn thing.

Blocking the first skeleton's blade, Kyouya pushed the creature back with a huff before slashing it across its ribs. The creature stumbled but didn't dissipate like it would have if he was using Gram. He moved in to finish it off, only to be forced to block the club of another skeleton while stepping to the side to avoid being skewered by the third skeleton's trident.

Kyouya maneuvered both weapons down, pinning the club under his sword, and slammed his shoulder into the creature to knock it off its feet. He kicked the club away, moving forward to stab the downed undead, but at the last minute, Kyouya felt something tackle his side. Falling to the ground, the Sword Master rolled over to see the first skeleton rising, moving to do what he was about to do to its ally. He tried to move his sword to block, only to realize the third skeleton had come forward to press its boot on his wrist, preventing him from moving the appendage.

The two undead held up their respective weapons, ready to stab through Kyouya without any difficulty.

"Enough!" Verdia commanded.

The creatures vanished in a puff of purple smoke, allowing the young man to stand back up and sheathe his blade. "Are we done?" he asked between breathes.

"For now, yes." The undead levitated himself closer to Kyouya. "Do you know where you made your first mistake?" he felt something cold rub against his side. "Go away," he told the snow sprite as it floated next to him. It didn't listen.

"Was it when I was pinned to the ground?"

"No, that was your last – shoo, go away you little pest – mistake, your first mistake was blocking the creature's attacks." Verdia instructed as he attempted to get away from the little spirit. "You are not a Crusader, your job as a Sword Master is to overwhelm your enemies with powerful and precise strikes. When you are unable to avoid an enemies attack, the action required is not to block, but to redirect instead which you successfully performed on one of them. That way, your enemy still wastes energy and time on the attack while opening them up for a retaliating strike."

Kyouya processed the information in his head, nodding once he felt like he had a basic understanding. "Can you summon another skeleton for me to practice?"

Verdia nodded, shrouding himself in dark magic once more to summon a single undead. "Once you have a grasp of how it's done, we can move on to applying it to multiple opponents." Seeing the glow around Verdia, the snow sprite surrounded itself in a bright blue glow to match. "What the-? Why won't you leave me alone?!"

"Right." Kyouya, ignoring the shouting right next to him, prepped himself, knowing it would take several tries before he could perform the action successfully. _But that's what I get for bringing a cheat item into this world. For all the power it grants me, Gram doesn't bestow its user with the skill needed to use it to its full potential._

The skeleton ran at him, holding the sword high above its head.

 _This training will be worth it if it allows me to protect my friends._ Kyouya charged forward as well, wishing to meet the monster halfway.

* * *

"Nature's beauty!"

Everyone within the guild erupted in cheers as a tiny plant grew out of the cup atop Aqua's head. The Arch-Priest bowed to the group, keeping her head up to prevent the cup from falling off.

"Why doesn't she just work here? With the amount of effort she puts into every act, it's surprising to think she does it for free."

Darkness turned towards Fio, who watched the Arch-Priest with her head resting on both hands, and offered the other woman a shrug. "Aqua puts her all into whatever she cares about – it's never consistent, but when you make it into actual work, well, she does everything she can to get out of it."

"Ah," Fio didn't really get it, but maybe that was for the best. Aqua was a paradox wrapped in a mystery; impossible to figure out and difficult to understand. "Do you think they'll get bored at some point?"

"Probably not," Darkness smiled as the crowd cheered once more.

"You girls don't plan on causing another bar fight, do you?"

The Crusader jumped at the surprisingly loud voice, but her smile returned once she turned and saw who it was approaching them. "No," she felt heat creep up her neck at the thought even as Arakuremono sat himself next to her, cheering along with the rest of the guild as Aqua continued her tricks.

"Too bad," the man commented settling back down while turning to face the bar. "That was one hell of a brawl!"

Masochistic pleasure was quickly replaced with shameful embarrassment as the blush that decorated Darkness' cheeks turned a few shades darker. "It wasn't my fault…" the woman muttered, folding her arms across her chest.

At that, Arakuremono let out a boisterous laugh that rang throughout the guild, gathering the attention of a few curious guildmates, who quickly turned back to the Arch-Priest's performance once they saw who it was. "Is that so?" He asked with a wild look, one that Darkness had grown accustomed too, but not Fio if her wide, frightful eyes were any indicator.

"It is." Darkness replied with an upturned nose, her noble upbringing leaking through due to her anger, something Lalatina was quick to reign in. "But I'm sure you didn't stop by just to check in on me." She continued, her cold shoulder melting back into its usual warmth filled smile.

He nodded, leaning over the counter to refill his drink – the staff were with the rest of the guild to watch Aqua perform. Looking back to Darkness, Arakuremono gave her a serious look, surprising the Crusader and filling her with a strange sense of dread. "I heard what happened to your party leader," the man took a long, drawn-out sip of alcohol, "and I want to know if you're interested in taking up my offer?"

Both girls looked away uncomfortably at that – Fio cringing at the memory of Kazuma's severed head while Darkness looked down at her lap, her hair casting a shadow over her eyes.

"Darkness?" Fio questioned after turning back to her friend. The young Hunter placed her hand on the woman's shoulder, trying to prompt some kind of reaction.

"It is my duty as a Crusader to act as a wall for my allies, protecting them from any harm that may befall them." Darkness raised a hand to her breast plate, running it over where it used to be cracked – she remembered where it had been damaged the most throughout her many battles. "I come from a long line of Crusaders, all of whom have protected and saved countless lives, and in the end, they either live a long, relatively successful life, or they sacrifice themselves for another's sake."

The two next to her listened to the story, Fio completely enraptured by the tale while Arakuremono remained silent, taking the occasional sip from his drink.

"However, never, in my entire line has a Crusader been the cause of another's death – direct or otherwise. And yet…" her voice hitched as a single tear rolled down her cheek, "because I refused to follow my leader's orders, I forced him to act in a way that ended his life prematurely. Kazuma… Kazuma died because of me."

"Darkness, it wasn't your-"

"Yes it was!" The Crusader looked back up in anger – though not directed at Fio directly, before turning her gaze to the brute next to her, who returned her look with one that was designed to evaluate her resolve. "I want to honor my family by being a Crusader who does not falter against innumerable enemies. I want to hold my head up high with pride as people describe my accomplishments. I wish to act as a wall that will never break! Arakuremono, train me so that I can protect my friends to my final breath!"

At the last statement, Arakuremono stood up and gave the woman before him a vicious smile. "Now that's what I like to hear!" He offered Darkness a hand, which she gladly took, standing up as well. "I ain't a Crusader, which is a damn shame since I would love to train you myself, but as I said the first time, there many friends who owe me a favor. Come on," the man turned and began walking towards the exit with Darkness right behind him. "Let's go get you a trainer!"

Fio remained behind, looking to her sides while twiddling her thumbs. "I… I guess I'll see you back home?" she chewed on the corner of her lip and turned around just in time for one of the waitresses set out a plate of food.

"Sorry about the wait. Here are your toad legs."

"Ah, thank you." She took the first piece out of the large stack, only take a few nibbles here and there, having lost some of her appetite.

"Ahhhhh…" Aqua sighed happily as she plopped onto the seat next to Fio, taking two of the toad legs and taking a huge bite out of both. "Oh, theth are fooooo good!" Swallowing, the Arch-Priest looked around the area. "Where's Darkness, did she leave already?"

"Yeah," the Hunter replied quickly, unsure if she should tell her friend what just transpired – it seemed like something Darkness should explain herself.

"Too bad. Oh well, more toad legs for us!"

"Yeah…" Fio repeated, her mind elsewhere. "Hey, Aqua…" the mindless daydreaming consolidated into a crazy idea.

"Hmm?" Aqua questioned through another mouthful of toad meat.

"You know how to enchant things, right?"

The Goddess placed a hand on her chin while looking up to appear deep in thought. "As an Arch-Priest, I know a few, mostly involving undead." Just mentioning the enemy made her growl.

"Do… you think you could teach me how to do that?" Fio figured this feeling welling up inside must have been like what Darkness had been feeling – though not to the same extent.

"Really?" Aqua's eyes shined with excitement at the thought of someone else wanting to be taught by her.

Fio smiled. It wasn't much, but it would help her improve, and hopefully that would pay off in the long run. She never wanted to see Megumin cry like that ever again.

* * *

Her movements were slow and methodical; honed through weeks of performing the same action. Pulling the weed that tried to hide between two different plants was easy, she knew how it needed to be handled to reduce the effort required. There wasn't a need to count when watering the plants, her body having an acquired muscle memory that pulled back when the right amount of water had been distributed.

Megumin did all of this in silence with Clemea doing the same tasks, but with the added action of watching the girl with worried looks. The Thief knew her little sister – in all but blood – had a nightmare last night, more than likely reliving the horrible events that transpired not long ago, and the effects were starting to show the longer the day went.

"Megumin…" Clemea quickly came up with an excuse to do something else, "would you like to take a break and get something to eat?"

"I'm fine." The Arch-Wizard replied, it being the same response to damn near everything the other girl suggested.

 _Shit._ Clemea cursed internally. Megumin had been working on the garden for over six hours. That wasn't a problem in of itself – most of them had done so as well, what was a problem was that Megumin had been working for six hours _straight_. No break to eat, rest, or even drink.

"Did you do something different with your hair? I think it looks great today!" It was a lie. The girl's hair was disheveled, unkempt, and dirty from working outside all day, but it was meant to get a different reaction out of her.

"I didn't."

 _Double shit._ The Thief had failed to get more than two words out of the girl in the last three hours. Compliments and questions weren't working, Clemea knew being direct was the only option left, but that didn't make it any easier for her. "Megumin, talk to me. I know what happened yesterday was awful, but Kazuma's _alive_. All of us are, and I want you to be ok too."

She kneeled next to the girl, placing an arm around her shoulder to bring her in for a hug, which Megumin provided no resistance too.

Clemea licked her lips as she thought of what to say next. "There wasn't anything we could do to prevent it, his death." She clarified even though it was probably the only thing on the young Arch-Wizard's mind. "It wasn't you're fault either." God, she really had no idea how to comfort people, this was a task for Fio, hell, Kyouya was better at this.

"I know," Megumin said, sniffing back the tears that were threatening to come, knowing she wouldn't be able to stop them if they came. "But, but… he was _dead_." She choked back a sob.

"I know Megumin." Clemea began rocking both of their bodies back and forth in the hopes in would act as another level of comfort. "And I'm so, so sorry you had to see something like that, and I know it's not easy to deal with something like that, but there isn't a doubt in my mind that you'll be able to handle it in time. Now promise me you won't do it by yourself, even though I know you can, because your friends are here for you, no matter what, ok?"

Wiping away the moisture in her eyes, Megumin nodded her head much to Clemea's relief. "Ok."

"Good. Now, how about we take that break I mentioned earlier and get cleaned up as well?"

"That sounds good." Megumin said, making the Thief mentally cheer. "Can we eat at the guild? I don't feel like cooking today."

"Sure thing. Let's grab a change of clothes, head over to the bathhouse, and then we can go to the guild tonight. Sound good?" When she got a nod as an answer, Clemea stood up and used both hands to help up the Arch-Wizard, the two of them heading inside to prepare for the evening.

* * *

"-not even sure if it will give you enough mana to walk on your own, but that's why I got you an earring." Kazuma finished explaining as his companion examined the piece of jewelry. "So, what do you think?"

"I love it!" Megumin smiled as she clutched the item close to her chest, feeling a small amount of blood rush up to her cheeks.

"Good," he said, relieved more than anything. "Well, that's what I wanted to talk to you about. Ready to head back inside?" the Adventurer gestured back towards the door they exited not too long ago, eager to go to bed so he could try out the new staff tomorrow.

Megumin hesitated. An action that caught Kazuma's attention easily. She felt a need – more like an urge – to do… something. "Umm…" even in the dark it was easy to see the blush on her cheeks as it continued to grow darker and darker.

"Is something wrong, Megumin?"

"N-no, it's just…" she breathed in, and mustered up all her courage to take a single step closer to him, close enough to be just within his personal space, and lean up on her tiptoes to plant a soft kiss on his cheek. "I'm glad you're ok." Megumin whispered, their faces so close that she could feel the warmth from his now rapid breaths.

Then the embarrassment kicked in.

"I-I-I'll see you later!" The Arch-Wizard squeaked, rushing past her friend with a face that felt like it was on fire, leaving the young Adventurer alone.

"Hmph, well that was unexpected."

Well, almost alone.

Verdia, along with the little snow sprite that refused to leave his side, much to Aqua's chagrin, had watched the entire sequence of events transpire without interrupting for their sakes, but now that Megumin was back inside, the undead felt like he had permission to speak his mind.

Kazuma's response was fall flat onto his back, his face stuck with a look of shock that probably wasn't going away anytime soon.

"Now that, that I expected."

The snow sprite chirped next to him in agreement.

* * *

 **Yeah, I'll end right about here.**

 **So, I've never done this before, but I would like to make a request. Would anyone be willing to draw any of the scenes involving Verdia and the snow sprite? I don't know why, I just got this stupid grin on my face every time I imagine it. If you want to do it just send me a private message, or if you don't want to do that, just send me the picture. Any one can do it, and I'm ok if no one wants to as well.**

 **Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, and I'll see you next time!**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey everyone, I'm back! It's been a little while - school's been taking most of my time lately, but not to worry, I've been hard at work completing this chapter for you to enjoy. Not much to say other than that, so I'll just let you get right to it!**

* * *

Chapter: 8

"Are you sure you want to go?"

Kazuma looked up to Kyouya, who was leaning against the doorframe leading to his room, pausing his packing to give the Sword Master a look. "Come on Kyouya, we both knew this arrangement wasn't going to last forever. I'm honestly surprised you let us stay here as long as we have. Besides, we already accepted the quest."

Kyouya scratched the back of his head while looking away, the action making his sore muscles groan in protest. Verdia's lessons were pushing him to his limits. "I know, but it's going to be weird with you guys leaving, Fio really seems upset by the whole thing."

They could both hear the mentioned girl despite the fact she was obviously a few rooms away; a crying, blubbering mess as she helped Megumin pack up her things.

The Adventurer gave a snort of laughter at that. "You guys are acting like we're leaving for the other side of the world. At best we're on the other side of town, it shouldn't take more than fifteen minutes to walk over to the new place." Kazuma picked up his folded tracksuit and carefully placed it on top of the rest of his gear, before taking the corners of the fabric that would act as his bag, and tying them together to form a simple knot.

"There is that." Kyouya admitted with a chuckle, stepping back to let his friend through before following him towards the front door where they met up with Darkness, who had finished packing as well, and Clemea.

Kazuma placed his green pack next to Darkness' yellow one while leaning his staff against the wall, and the four of them talked amongst themselves while they waited for the others to finish.

"You made sure to look in all the drawers for your clothes, right?"

The group of four turned around to see Fio as she circled around an exasperated Megumin, a small checklist in hand as she futile wiped away tears while listing off each point.

"Yes," the young Arch-Wizard replied.

"And you grabbed your staff?"

She held out the object for the Hunter to see. "Mmhmm,"

"All of the books?"

Megumin gave the pack on her back a quick jostle. "Yep."

Fio took in a deep breath as she tried to calm herself down. "Ok, I guess that's everything. Are you sure you don't want me too-?"

" _Yes,_ " Megumin couldn't stress that word enough as she turned to the girl with a grateful, and annoyed, look. "I'm fine, Fio, besides, we're only going across the town. If I forgot anything you can just bring it over or send me a note for me to pick it up."

"Ah… right." Fio deflated a little, acknowledging the truth of that statement.

"Thank you," The Arch-Wizard breathed a sigh of relief, and turned towards the rest of the group, who were staring at the two with laughter dancing in their eyes. "Are we ready to go?" Megumin asked hotly, looking away from the group with eyes scrunched up in mock anger.

Kazuma shook his head. "Just waiting on Aqua and Verdia, speaking of which, Aqua!"

"Yes?" The Arch-Priest responded, leaning out of her room with a questioning look.

"Almost done?"

"Ne, ne, you need to be more patient, it takes a while to gather up all my materials." Answering his question, Aqua disappeared back into her room where the sounds of packing continued.

"How much stuff does she have?" Clemea asked, looking towards the other party for an answer.

"No idea." All three members answered, mirroring each other by giving an uncaring shrug.

 _How do they do that?_ Kyouya silently wondered.

Kazuma sighed, getting the groups attention. "Verdia!" he shouted, loud enough to make the two next to him, Kyouya and Fio, cover their ears while vocalizing their annoyance. "What's taking so long?"

"I'm trying to teach this snow sprite to tie a knot!" the undead replied angrily, the group couldn't tell if that anger was directed at the Adventurer or the spirit mentioned. The group then shared a confused look.

"Why is he teaching it how to tie a knot?"

"I didn't think it was possible for a snow sprite to do anything more than float around."

"Verdia seems to think otherwise."

Their attention was then directed towards Aqua's room, where they saw the Arch-Priest step out with an absurdly large blue pack on her back, only for said pack to get caught on the door. She looked back, confused, huffing in annoyance once she saw the problem before leaning forward, using her full body weight to pull the pack with everything she had.

It was a comical sight watching the Goddess struggle to pull her pack out from the doorframe. Eventually, Aqua was able to wrestle the pack out, and she reached the group with an excited look.

"Alright, let's go!"

"We can't," Kazuma said, grabbing her shoulder before she could reach the door. "We're still waiting for Verdia."

A dark look passed over Aqua's face at the mention of the General's name. "Do we have too?" she whined.

"There is no need," Verdia inserted himself into the conversation as the two spirits floated into the house with two packs levitating behind – a purple one the size of his head, and a white one no bigger than a fist. "We have finished… finally." He muttered the last part to himself.

Now curious, Fio stepped over towards the white pack, looking it over before turning to the General. "Did you really teach it to tie a knot?"

"Against my better judgement."

"That's so adorable!" the Hunter gushed.

Verdia grumbled.

"Can we go now, _please?_ " Megumin requested.

The others quickly agreed, and the group of six exchanged goodbyes with the remaining trio, before heading out to their new home, excited now that they would have a place of their own.

* * *

Kazuma was _exhausted._

The entire group, save a certain Goddess, had spent the entire day cleaning up as much of the mansion as they could before the sun disappeared from their sights. They got the main dining room, their respective bedrooms, the kitchen – although Megumin did most of that herself, and only just finished up the main hall before Kazuma had called it a day. They would probably spend the rest of the week cleaning before everything was done if he was honest.

 _But it will be so worth it to have a place to call our own._ He reasoned, placing the cleaning materials away in one of the mansion's many closets. Kazuma then dragged his body through the house to his room, where, upon entering, he jumped onto his bed with a happy sigh. The feeling of sinking into the bed sheets was heavenly.

Someone knocked on his door, causing the Adventurer to let out a groan. "What is it?"

The door opened, and Verdia quickly levitated himself to Kazuma's side. "Child, we may have a problem."

His annoyance was conveyed with another groan, because _nothing_ could be done in this world without something or someone making it difficult. So, with dread swelling from the pit of his stomach, Kazuma repeated his question. "What is it?"

"The spirit that resides in this house, the previous owner mentioned only one, correct?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"Because I am currently sensing dozens of spirits residing in this mansion." Verdia stated, his voice conveying nothing that would let Kazuma know how the undead felt about the new development.

The Adventurer, however, was much less subtle about how he felt. "What?!" Kazuma bolted upright, fear radiating off him in waves as he looked around the area, half-expecting to see the spirits right behind him.

"I don't feel any malevolent intentions though," Verdia continued, glancing to the side and following something Kazuma couldn't see. "In fact, most of them appear to be bored."

"Ok," the Adventurer relaxed a little, but still felt uneasy at the thought of so many spirits just wandering through the house. He quickly came up with a plan to deal with them. "Come on, we should go tell Aqua." He grabbed Verdia so he wouldn't waste any more mana, before heading out towards the Arch-Priest's room.

"If we are letting her take care of this, do me a favor and stop her from making any barriers. That woman has a tendency of going overboard with them."

Kazuma thought it over for a moment, nodding in agreement. "Yeah, maybe I should just stick with her the entire time." It wouldn't be fun trying to reign in the childish Goddess, but he'd done it before and he'd probably have to do it again. Then a question came to mind. "Since when could you sense the feelings of a spirit?"

"I have been able to do so for a very long time. Much like how a human can project emotions through their body language, a spirit does so through their essence which is how I am able to sense them. A higher spirit is capable of disguising – or at least masking – the essence so they are harder to track from both the living and the dead."

"Huh," Kazuma wasn't quite expecting a long explanation. "That's cool."

"Indeed, now, I do not wish to alarm you, but their boredom is slowly transforming into annoyance."

"What? Why?"

"I can sense emotions not the reasons behind them." Verdia's lone eye glazed over. "Strange… now I'm sensing amusement."

The young Adventurer's steps were hurried as he turned down another hallway, and he glared down at the head in his arm. "Can't you communicate with them? You are an undead after all."

Verdia glared back. "I don't know what you think the extent of my abilities are, but you should know that sensing and communicating are two completely different things!"

"Buy you're undead, doesn't that mean you can communicate with the dead?"

"That's similar to me asking why all humans can't communicate with each other! There is no reason why I should be able to speak with spirits just because I am dead!"

Kazuma angrily scratched his head as the conversation-turned-argument slowly gave him a headache, which of course only made him angrier. He needed to focus, and when someone went from feeling bored to annoyed then amused, it usually meant they were about to do a prank, and spirits doing a prank spelled bad news for whoever the victim would be. Which probably would be his party.

It was just as he finished that thought that the floor beneath him suddenly broke apart.

It was during that moment – the one before he began to fall but just after he realized what was happening – that time seemed to freeze just long enough for Kazuma to utter one word.

"Shit."

Verdia slipped out of Kazuma's grasp as he fell to the first floor, landing on his back with enough force to knock the breath out of him. Groaning, the Adventurer moved to prop himself up with his elbows, before looking around the hallway to get a grasp of where he was. The spirits apparently weren't done yet, because just before Kazuma could move to a sitting position, the floor beneath him gave way once more, sending him plummeting down to the basement where he crashed into the cold stone ground – which he would later suggest they scatter a few cushions around for safety reasons.

"Child, are you alright?" Verdia called out way up high, his red eye the only thing visible to Kazuma from the dark room that he now resided in.

Kazuma wheezed in response.

"Well, at least you are alive." The former General muttered, looking to the side for only a moment before refocusing on the Adventurer. "Are you able to see anything down there?"

Muttering a quick curse under his breath, Kazuma struggled into a sitting position to look around the area around him. "No," he called out after a quick check, "but I can change that." Kazuma reached out and grabbed one of the wooden pieces of debris that used to make up the floors above him, and with a quick, "Tinder," he was able to create a makeshift torch.

"Clever…" he heard Verdia mumble in the ensuring silence as he once again looked around the area.

Kazuma's lips twitched upward, appreciating the compliment but keeping it to himself that he heard the undead, knowing Verdia would deny it. "Still don't see much." He said, not at all surprised by this; it would have been weird if that old man had left anything behind with a group of strangers living in the mansion.

"Do you see an exit at least?"

Moving back to the hole he made, Kazuma looked back up to give Verdia an annoyed look. "You know, you could float down here and look around with me."

"Ah… I suppose I – KYAH!" Verdia screamed as he disappeared from Kazuma's sights.

"Verdia?!" the Adventurer yelled. He waited with baited breath for the undead to come back, laughing at what he would claim was a good prank, but Verdia didn't come back and Kazuma realized he was alone inside a haunted basement.

"I need to find Aqua."

He turned around to head towards where he thought he saw some stairs leading upstairs, only to come face to face with the horrifying visage of a red-eyed, child's doll floating towards him. Screaming out of pure terror, Kazuma turned around to run in the opposite direction, figuring any direction away from that… _thing_ … would be better, however, this proved to be false as he saw three more dolls coming at him. The fear from earlier intensified to new heights as he witnessed more and more dolls slowly coming into the light from his torch as they made their way towards him, but then a thought came to mind that pierced through the fear that had been clouding his mind.

 _I know drain touch._

And if these spirits were merely possessing the body of a doll and using that levitate spell Verdia always used… _Then all I need to do is drain their mana._

He turned towards the dolls, and they paused their approach when they saw the dark gleam in his eyes and a twisted smile on his face.

Oh, he was going to have fun with this.

* * *

It was times like these that Megumin contemplated learning one, _only one_ , more spell. She squirmed on Aqua's bed as she tried to think of anything besides how badly she needed to use the restroom right now. Explosion magic worked the first hour, and part of the second if she had been keeping track of time, but even her obsession over the beauty of her spell could only work so long. Her garden came to mind next, and what she was going to do with all the space she had to work with in the back, Verdia claimed he could summon skeletons to help her out.

Focusing on the garden eventually led to the very recent moment she had shared with Kazuma, one that left her a blushing mess. She knew it had been a mistake the very next day when neither of them could hold a conversation with each other for more than a minute without trailing off as the memory of that _stupid_ kiss on the cheek forced both of them to look away and come up with a poor excuse to leave the room. It had been a spur of the moment decision, a bad one at that, and now Megumin was worried it may have ruined a friendship she held very dear.

The door to Aqua's room opened, distracting Megumin from her thoughts as she looked, with mild apprehension, to see who – or what – had entered the room. Whatever entered the room immediately started screaming, causing the young Arch-Wizard to let out a terrified yell herself. However, it was those screams that proved to be exactly what the two people needed to recognize the other.

"Megumin?" Kazuma asked, placing a hand over his racing heart to calm it down. "What the hell are you doing?! You almost gave me a heart attack!"

"You're one to talk!" She retorted. If she wasn't so afraid and angry right now, Megumin would have found it funny that the first, normal conversation they had with each other started as an argument.

Sighing, Kazuma did a quick once over on Megumin to see if she was okay before continuing the conversation. "What are you doing in Aqua's room?"

Megumin relaxed a little. "Those dolls roaming around the house scared me, and I thought it would be best to be with Aqua."

He scratched the back of his head, already guessing that had been the reason. "But Aqua's not here, do you think she's already taking care of this?"

"Probably," the Explosion maniac gave a sigh of her own.

 _Meanwhile…_

"Turn undead! Turn undead! Turn undead!" Aqua repeated her spell multiple times as she charged through the house with a fire in her eyes every time she saw, heard, or even caught a scent of the spirits that tried to flee from her holy wrath. "Sacred turn undead!" she watched the spell go off within the common room with a satisfied cheer, celebrating briefly with nature's beauty, before continuing her charge through the house.

* * *

"Do you think Darkness is out there too?" Megumin asked.

"I would be surprised if she wasn't." Kazuma had to repress the urge to shudder as his mind involuntarily conjured up the image of Darkness, clad in her nightgown, roaming through the house with a makeshift weapon in hand and a deranged expression on her face. "Verdia's out there somewhere too, no idea where ever since those dolls dragged him away." He really should figure out where they took him off too.

"What about the snow sprite?"

He blinked at that question. "I have no idea, it normally follows Verdia around everywhere."

She made an affirmative noise, only to squirm once more when she realized the second reason for going to Aqua's room.

"Megumin, are you okay?"

The girl felt her cheeks flush from both the concern he displayed as the Adventurer took two steps closer while his eyes once again checked her body for injuries, and embarrassment at the situation she was in.

"I'm fine, but I need to use the bathroom."

In the ensuring silence, Megumin did everything she could not to glance at her friend. It was when the silence stretched out to unreasonable lengths that she turned back forward to figure out what was keeping Kazuma silent, only to see him looking behind her with his mouth wide open in surprise.

Her head was slow as it turned to view whatever it was that kept Kazuma in a stunned state of silence, knowing full well she wouldn't like it, and only when it finally did finish turning did Megumin see the entire window covered from top to bottom with those creepy dolls, staring at the two of them with lifeless eyes.

KO-NO-SU-BA!

The house felt empty without them.

Kyouya looked through today's paper for, what must have been, the fourth time as Clemea and Fio worked on the garden outside. He took a sip of coffee he made early, cringing at the bitter taste – Kazuma usually made it in the mornings, being the first one awake almost every day. Kyouya was going to ask him how he did it next time they saw each other.

Setting down the paper, Kyouya felt his hand twitch towards the deck of cards resting beside him – it was game night tonight, poker specifically, but now that they weren't here…

Kyouya sighed, even knowing this was going to happen eventually, it still didn't prepare him for the sheer _silence_ that it came with. No longer was the kitchen filled with the noise of Megumin humming a song from her home village with Kazuma occasionally joining in on the parts he recognized – he was almost able to hum a whole song now, a fact that never failed to bring a smile to the Arch-Wizard's face. Darkness wasn't here to help him with their monthly budget anymore, although, it would be much easier now that it was just his party again. And to top it all off, Aqua-sama would no longer be around, occasionally entertaining them with her many party tricks or helping when it came to shopping – that Goddess was surprisingly good at figuring out when people were trying to charge more than they should.

It's not like he wouldn't see them again, the training schedule he had with Verdia ensured that they would meet up at least three times a week, but there was no denying the day-to-day life will be a lot less entertaining without them.

"Kyouya, are you alright?"

The Sword Master turned towards the source of the question and saw Fio – with some dirt smeared on her face and clothes – looking at him with slight worry.

He smiled. "Yeah, just getting used to the quiet is all."

Fio nodded in understanding, offering him her own sympathetic smile as she moved from the backyard's door over to a nearby closet to gather a few more tools. "Yeah, it's definitely not the same without them. I think Clemea is taking it harder than us."

Kyouya was surprised to hear that. "You think so?"

"Mmm," she nodded once more, assured of her assessment. "She's hiding it really well, but she definitely misses them a lot."

"Wow," he honestly expected Clemea to be handling the transition better than both of them, something he thought was reinforced by Fio's reaction that morning, but then again, he wasn't that good at reading people. "Is that why you've been with her the whole day?"

"For both of us really." The hunter admitted. "I can't really claim to be doing much better, but it does feel nice being able to talk with each other one on one again. I can't remember the last time we've done that."

"That's good." Kyouya was happy they had each other, but that only made him feel even more isolated. He didn't know why, but the Sword Master couldn't remember what the three of them used to do besides doing quests, eating at whatever restaurant was nearby, and sleeping at home. If that were the case, then he needed to get a hobby.

Maybe woodcarving? It was something that he was fascinated by.

"Would you like to join us?" Fio asked, bringing Kyouya back into the conversation.

"Huh?" he questioned before realizing what she was asking. "Ah, no, not right now at least."

"Alright…" she said, clearly disappointed by his answer.

Kyouya bit the corner of his lip so he didn't take back his answer, he appreciated the offer, but he wanted to continue his previous line of thought. He almost caved after watching Fio walk out, tools in hand and shoulders sagging. _Let them have their time together_ , Kyouya reasoned, reaching down to grab the paper once more.

There were a few puzzles on it he could work on until he went to bed tonight.

* * *

"Are you almost done?" Kazuma asked as he leaned on the wall next to the bathroom door.

"Don't rush me! This is really embarrassing." Megumin's voice replied from within the room.

The Adventurer blew a strand of hair out of his face entertaining the idea of getting a clip to hold his extra hair out of the way, before deciding it would easier just to get a regular haircut. _I wonder if there's any place nearby I could get one._

Kazuma looked over to his left to see a few of those possessed dolls flying towards him at high speed. A few seconds later, and a drain touch here and there, left Kazuma alone once again with the dolls lying at his feet. Next time he saw her, Kazuma was going to thank Wiz for an amazing skill.

Another group of dolls – larger than the last one – appeared from around the same corner as the other group, but with a surprising addition to it.

"Verdia?" Kazuma questioned when he saw the telltale purple helmet floating with the group with a panicked expression in his eyes.

"Child!" the undead screamed as he and the dolls flew past the Adventurer fast enough to create a small gust of wind. "Saaaaaaaave meeeee!" the group disappeared from Kazuma's sight as they turned around another corner.

Scratching his head in confusion, Kazuma turned towards where the group came from and asked himself a question. "Save you from what?"

His answer came in the form of a blue-haired Goddess, who was currently in the middle of a rampage, as she came charging down the hallway with an expression so focused that Kazuma doubted she could even see anything other than the spirits. Just as she ran past him, Kazuma reached out and snagged the back of Aqua's pajama shirt, stopping her from continuing her conquest.

"Hold on there, Aqua."

"Eh?" the Goddess looked around, her face scrunched up in confusion as if she didn't know where she was – which was a real possibility. Aqua then turned towards him with annoyance after short period of time. "Kazuma, why did you stop me? I was about to catch another group."

"I stopped you because that next group had Verdia in it." He replied, keeping a firm hold on the Arch-Priest, knowing she would take off like an arrow if he let go.

"And?" She asked, only confirming his previous assessment.

Kazuma let out a long-winded sigh at that. "You can't use your spells on him."

Aqua huffed, and looked away from him with a pout on her face. "I wasn't going to use them on him." She muttered.

"Sure you weren't."

A small amount of red creeped up the Goddess' face as Kazuma easily called out her lie. She stuck out her tongue at him in response.

It was just after she finished doing that that Megumin finished up inside the bathroom and came out to see a familiar sight, one that made her cover her mouth so they wouldn't hear her laughing. "Did I miss something?" the Arch-Wizard asked with a grin.

Kazuma shrugged. "Nothing out of the ordinary."

Verdia popped out from around the corner, his expression and movements were hesitant as he eyed the Arch-Priest who returned the look with one of disgust. "Thank you," the former General said with a surprising amount of gratitude. He shivered all of a sudden, and Kazuma had a feeling he knew what the reason was.

His suspicions were confirmed when the snow sprite appeared from the corner everyone seemed to be coming from tonight, where it soon gave a delighted chirp once it saw Verdia.

"Oh no…" the undead muttered as he watched the tiny spirit float towards, and eventually around him, never losing the happy expression on its face. "How do you keep finding me?" Verdia demanded, knowing full well he wouldn't get an actual answer from the snow sprite.

"Why does it like _you_ so much?!" Aqua couldn't comprehend how such an adorable creature such as that could stand being in the presence of an undead, much less enjoy it.

"If I knew the answer to that, I would do everything in my power to change." Verdia answered as the snow sprite took its usual place atop his helmet. "Unfortunately, nothing I do now seems to change its opinion of me."

KONOSUBA!

Luckily the rest of the night proved to be much less eventful for the group as Aqua's previous cleansing rampage had cleared out most of the spirits in the house while the remainder fled in terror to get away from the crazy Arch-Priest. Aqua decided to set up a simple barrier – under Kazuma's strict supervision – around the house, one weak enough to allow Verdia safe passage but strong enough to repel the spirits, and it was only once that was done did the Adventurer get the chance to go to sleep.

The morning sunlight slowly dragged Kazuma out of his slumber. His muffled groans alerting anyone within earshot that he was not happy about.

"Rough night?"

Startled by the voice, Kazuma shot up with a yelp where he was then able to see who was in his room.

"Chris?!" the startled Adventurer asked as the well-known thief snickered in amusement at his expense. "How did you-?! When did-?! WHY?!" Kazuma finally settled on a question, but Chris went ahead and answered all three.

"One of your windows was left unlocked, about an hour ago, and I wanted to say congratulations on the new place." Each answer was given and the three fingers she had raised were pulled back down with each one. "You're usually an early riser, I even half-expected you to be finished with your morning routine by the time I got here." Chris teased with another laugh.

"So you've been watching me sleep for an hour?" Out of all the questions he could have asked, that was the one he was most concerned about.

"No. It took me about ten minutes to find your room, and then I explored the rest of the place when I realized you were still asleep."

Still tired, Kazuma rubbed his eyes while asking the next question. "You didn't steal anything, did you?"

Chris pouted at that. "I may be a Thief, but you know I don't steal from friends."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." He replied right before standing up to stretch, sighing in relief after hearing a satisfying pop come from his back. "But you don't usually break into people's houses just to say hi."

"True," Chris admitted as she watched the teenager put on the top half of his strange outfit, "but I thought it would be fun to watch your reaction. It was by the way."

"Good to know." Kazuma muttered sarcastically, reaching the handle to his door before giving the Thief an expectant look. "Coming?"

Nodding, Chris hopped off her perch on his desk and began following the Adventurer down the long hallways. "Where are we going?"

"Kitchen, I need a cup of coffee."

And so, the two headed down to the sparsely stocked room where Kazuma quickly brewed up a cup for both himself and Chris who was all too eager to try his well-made drink. The Thief described some of the jobs she had been doing over the last few weeks as Kazuma slowly began to wake up thanks to the caffeine, and was eventually able to describe the events that happened last night that left him so exhausted this morning.

"Yesh, you just can't get a break, can you?" Chris took another sip of her coffee, sighing happily as the liquid warmed her body from the morning cold.

"Seems to be the story of my life."

The master Thief finished off her cup before setting the object down, she then made sure that he was focused on her before continuing. "Tell you what, you sound like you need a break – not so much from work, but everyone and everything here in town, and I've been needing to find a partner lately. So, how about this." Chris leaned in closer, staring Kazuma down with a look filled with determination and positively bursting with excitement. "Join me on my next heist!"

"…I-" Kazuma didn't even get a chance to truly start his sentence before the Thief slammed a hand – much harder than necessary he would add – over the young Adventurer's mouth, preventing him from answering.

"Don't answer right away!" Chris chastised with a grin before removing her hand from his mouth. She laughed once she saw the red hand print left behind from her enthusiasm. It would probably sting for a little while. "I want you to really think about it before you give me an answer."

"And you couldn't have just said that?" Kazuma quietly demanded, his voice slightly muffled as he rubbed his own hand over the mark.

She gave him an innocent shrug in response.

There was a knock on the front door, and Kazuma had to suppress the very exaggerated groan he wanted to let out because he wanted one, _just one_ , morning where he could just relax and not have to worry about something.

"Are you going to get that, or should I tell them nobody's home?"

If Kazuma didn't respect her so much as a mentor and friend, he would have used the first skill she taught him to take her panties once more just to shut Chris up. Swallowing his annoyance, Kazuma walked towards the door, Chris following close behind due to her curiosity, and opened the door expecting the worse. He got something else instead.

"H-hey there, Kazuma!" Kyouya greeted, a pack on his back and both Clemea and Fio right behind him, the former looking about two seconds away from murdering the closest living thing in the most painful way possible. "How's it going?"

The Adventurer stared at the group of three for a good long while, taking in their soot-covered bodies and hastily thrown together packs into account, before coming up with a conclusion he wanted the Sword Master to confirm. "You burned the house down after trying to cook a meal, didn't you?"

"He did," Clemea answered for him, her voice containing enough venom to kill a fully grown Giant Toad. She then walked inside the house, being damn sure to bump into her leader in the process, calling out to Kazuma as she disappeared down one of the many halls. "We're staying here until it gets rebuilt." Her voice left no room for argument.

"I'll… go pick a room now." Fio awkwardly slipped past the Adventurer, leaving both Chris and Kazuma who stared down the now alone Kyouya.

The silence stretched on for several long minutes, neither person moving from their spot as the information sunk in. Kyouya's head was aimed down in shame as he shuffled back and forth on both feet. Neither the Adventurer nor the Thief needed to verbalize any of the accusations running through their minds as they could see the same ones running through Kyouya's own.

But there was one thing Kazuma needed to know.

"Was the garden destroyed?"

Swallowing a nervous lump, Kyouya nodded.

"And the heat lamps as well?"

"They made the fire worse, actually." The Sword Master admitted.

"Well shit," Kazuma was going to need another cup of coffee. "I hope you know you're telling Megumin this, and you'll be helping her start up the new garden as well."

Kyouya rubbed the back of his head while laughing nervously. "She won't… she won't kill me, right?"

"You'll have to find that out yourself." Kazuma said, stepping aside to allow his fellow party leader to walk in. "Go ahead and pick any open room you want."

Kyouya thanked him, and proceeded inside while leaving Chris and Kazuma alone in-front of the door.

Once she was sure he was gone, Chris openly laughed at the ridiculousness of the situation. "I'm so glad I came by today!" Wiping away a tear, the Thief decided she had had enough fun for one morning, and waved Kazuma goodbye, but not before reminding him to think over her proposal.

Now alone, Kazuma pondered what he should do before finally settling on getting the cleaning supplies ready. An extra three people would really help speed things along. Especially when he could guilt trip one of them.

"Oi! Kyouya! I got a job for you!"

* * *

 **Oh boy, Kyouya's in trouble now.**

 **Like I said up top, there isn't much more for me to say, so I'll just say thank you to everyone who's reviewed, followed, and favorite this story, and wish you all a great day!**


	9. Chapter 9

**Holy crap this took awhile. This chapter fought me with every thing it had, making me realize something important, I need to speed things up until I get to season 2. The only thing that means really is that I'll be working more on episode-based chapters for a little while. I really do love doing slice of life chapters, gives me and the audience more opportunities to connect with the characters - both the ones we know and the the ones I add - and learn more about them, but I think I've reached a point where I'm out of ideas that can be done within season 1.  
**

 **I should be able to finish the next chapter much quicker if I do focus on an episode instead of coming up with my own ideas, so look forward to that!**

 **Anyway, I've taken enough of your time, enjoy!**

Chapter: 9

Verdia felt his hands shake uncontrollably as he buttoned up the high-end tunic he kept lying around for special events like this. The festival would be starting very soon, and the young Sword Master was still trying to build up the courage necessary to confess to Miko. He hasn't even seen her yet, how the hell was he supposed to do this?

"Would you just relax already." Kyūdō – who walked into the room not even a second ago – moved to finish buttoning the tunic since it was very apparent to both men that Verdia wasn't capable of doing it right now. "You're going to ask Miko to spend the festival with you, and then spend the evening participating in a whole bunch of activities so she doesn't get bored with you," he blocked the light punch aimed for his head, "I'm joking, but seriously, you need to calm down."

"Easier said than done." Verdia did his best to calm down the raging torrent of thoughts and doubts running through his mind, and managed to do so just enough to stop his hands from shaking. "I've been wanting to do this for a very long time, but now that I have an opportunity to do so-"

"You're beyond nervous, and are consequently coming up with any and every way this night could go to hell." The Archer finished for him, surprising Verdia enough to leave him speechless. "Yeah, figured that was the case."

"Fighting is my specialty," Verdia glared at his friend, turning away as he continued, "always has been, and I know I'm being stupid right now since we'll still be friends even if she rejects my feelings, but experiencing this is a lot different than I expected!"

"Good, it means you care."

Whatever he was about to say died in his throat as Kyūdō's simple statement was processed by his brain. "I guess it does…" the Sword Master muttered. Knowing he was still nervous, and anticipating it would only get worse as the night went on, Verdia asked his leader, "What should I do if I can't tell her?"

Kyūdō shrugged. "Screw it, if words fail then let your actions speak for you." He sighed when he saw his friend's face scrunch up in confusion. "Kiss her, dumbass."

Immediately, Verdia's face went red as he stuttered out multiple protests, until he finally regained control of his voice. "But what if that ruins our friendship?!"

"If one stupid kiss was all it took to ruin your friendship with Miko, then it wasn't much of a friendship to begin with." The leader immediately said without hesitation. It sounded harsh, but Kyūdō knew it was true, especially when it was concerning his two teammates.

"That's not helping." Despite saying that, Verdia did visibly relax at his words. "You're a real bastard, you know."

"And you're a dumbass." Kyūdō replied, both men chuckling after that. "Now put this on too."

"My cape?" Verdia questioned, taking the purple garment and eyeing in incredulously.

"It goes well with the blue from your clothes." The Archer crossed his arms and leaned casually on the wall as he watched Verdia attach the extra garment onto his person. "Heh, you could almost be mistaken for royalty with that outfit."

The joke made Verdia snort in amusement as he looked himself over with the mirror nearby. His cape was meant to be worn with the armor so it flowed neatly from the shoulder plates down to his knees, but now it wrapped around most of Verdia's body and ended at his feet without the extra bulk the armor provided. "I look ridiculous."

"I think you look great!"

Verdia went rigid when he heard Miko's voice just behind him, completely caught off guard by his teammate's sudden entrance. Turning around, Verdia nervously laughed while scratching the back of his head, struggling to find his voice.

"I'm surprised, really." Miko continued, stepping closer to her friend, subsequently making him more nervous as the close proximity allowed him to catch a whiff of the perfume she was wearing. "I honestly expected you to dress normally today."

 _Focus, focus, focus!_ Verdia continually chanted mentally as he racked his brain for an appropriate response. "It's a special occasion, so I thought, why not?" the Sword Master finally said. "You look great as well."

And she really did; the green shoulder-less dress and accompanying jacket was, while simple, rather elegant. It suited her perfectly, even though he thought it was a little weird she wasn't wearing any other accessory, but there wasn't any doubt in his mind that Miko had something else nearby if she needed wanted it. Verdia swallowed a nervous lump in his throat even as she thanked him for the compliment.

"So, are we all ready to go?" The Arch-Priest of the group asked, looking at her two friends excitedly, eager to show them her home's brand of celebration.

"Yeah, about that…" Kyūdō started as he slowly made his way to the door, subtly nudging Verdia closer to Miko. "I actually promised these two women that I'd let them escort me around today, and you know how much I hate to break promises…" his sentences continued to trail off as he inched closer and closer to the exit while both teammates watched it happen in disbelief.

"You… don't want to spend the festival with us?"

Kyūdō hesitated at the door, before sighing as he turned back to give the Arch-Priest a gentle smile. "It's not that I don't want to, and I will see you two at some point tonight, but I've already got a date planned out…"

"And we all know you can't say no to a pretty face, or two in this case." Verdia added with a roll of his eyes, knowing damn well what his leader was trying to do. He was almost inclined to thank him for the opportunity.

He got an innocent shrug in response. "You know me all too well, besides, you can keep each other for the time being." Kyūdō left after that, purposefully making a hasty exit to avoid any more protests from Miko.

"Well that's disappointing." Miko grumbled, looking a little peeved about the situation.

"But not unexpected, really." Verdia said, inexplicably calm. Maybe some of Kyūdō's confidence was rubbing off on him? Whatever it was, he was going to take advantage of it for as long as he could. "Shall we?" he held out his arm for her.

Miko blinked at him in a brief moment of confusion, before a lovely smile lit up her face as she accepted the offer and wrapped her arm around his. "We shall, and I know the perfect place to start!"

* * *

With noticeably effort, Verdia shook away the memories before they could continue and remind him of the worst moment of his life. Or at least, the last moment of it. Why? Why were these memories – which he thought had been long since buried, surfacing back to the forefront of his mind? What on earth could have possibly triggered…

His blurred surroundings came back into focus, and the sight before him answered everything.

"I-It's not like it meant anything. The k-k-kiss was just a… spur of the moment action!" The stuttering fool, otherwise known Megumin, desperately tried to explain her sudden, and intimate gesture to the equally flustered Kazuma, who was blushing up a storm as he struggled to keep eye contact with his wizard companion. "I was so glad you were just alive that I may have been a little more…" the girl bit her lip as she wracked her brain for a proper word, " _forward?_ "

Verdia listened to the one-sided conversation – _Was she asking a question as an answer?_ – impassively. Inwardly was another story altogether. Torn between exasperation, pity, and grief he did not think possible, Verdia watched the children before him attempt to sort through their feelings and come to a conclusion that wouldn't compromise the relationship they previously had a little more than a week ago. The interactions they shared reminded him of the ones he wished to have with Miko – no wait, he did share one moment with her on that very night at the festival.

 _"It's not like I don't appreciate the gesture either, it was just so sudden…"_

Wait, hold on, what?!

Verdia's eye went wide as he refocused on the scene in-front of him once more, where he saw a semi-transparent image of Miko overlapping Megumin. This… this wasn't right – more than that, it didn't make any sense!

 _"I care about you a lot, Verdia, maybe more than a friend normally would…"_

They weren't saying the same thing – while he could hear only Miko's soothing voice, he could still read Megumin's lips. Nor were they performing the same gestures – Miko nervously adjusting her glasses without really needing to as Megumin gripped her staff hard enough to turn her knuckles white. But he knew, knew that they were trying to convey similar messages.

 _"I… I understand…"_

The undead knight turned his gaze over towards Kazuma, and was only mildly surprised to see himself - when he was alive at least - overlapping Kazuma's body. Heavens was this confusing, painful, heartwarming, and heartbreaking all at the same time.

"It's fine, Megumin, really." Kazuma had raised his voice to interrupt his friend's rambling, and those four words shattered the short-lived illusion Verdia had been witnessing. The young Adventurer ran a hand through his hair, finishing the gesture by scratching the back of his head, as he looked up towards the sky, hoping it would some how spell out what he should say.

"It was… scary, really." He continued, looking back down. "That spirit was stronger than anything we've ever faced, and during the whole thing, I didn't know what to do."

The admittance was followed with a weak laugh as Kazuma looked straight forward at nothing in particular as moisture gathered in the corners of his eyes.

"I was so scared watching that thing walk towards us." There was another weak laugh, with hints of a sob mixed in, that escaped his lips as he kept his gaze forward, focused on nothing in particular. "You couldn't perform another explosion, Darkness can't hit anything even if its standing still, Fio might be a good archer but I didn't believe arrows would do us any good, Kyouya was scared stiff, Clemea might've been able to something – I don't know what, and Aqua is… well she's Aqua."

On and on the list went. Each point adding to the moisture in his eyes until enough had gathered for a trail of tears to fall down his face. All the while, Megumin watched, enraptured by his admittance while her own set of tears mixed into the snow covered ground next to his.

"But then Aqua knew what to do to save us, and did so in a way I can't help but be proud of even to this day. 'We're actually going to make it out of this alive.' That was the first thing that came to mind, only for that to go away the second I saw Darkness – with her damn sword still _drawn_ – in-front of the Winter Shogun. I reacted, shoving her face to the ground in the hopes that it would still count as a bow to that spirit."

They both knew what followed, and Megumin looked down and shuddered as the image of his bloodied head still haunted her.

"I didn't realize it at the time, but I know did what I did because…" Kazuma paused as he debated admitting something very personal, something that recaptured the Arch-Wizards attention. "well…" the Adventurer smiled – tears still falling – as he looked back down at his friend, "I didn't want any of you to die."

Any hesitation within Megumin shattered the second that sentence was finished, and she leapt forward, dropping her staff in the process, to wrap both her arms around Kazuma's neck and pull him close to hug the Adventurer with everything she had. Resting her head on one of his shoulders, Megumin allowed the tears to fall freely as she tightened her grip around his neck.

Shocked for a brief moment, but getting over it quickly, Kazuma returned the hug by placing one hand on her waist and the other on the small of her back before pulling the Arch-Wizard closer, relishing in the warmth and comfort her presence provided. He almost laughed when he realized her hat was big enough to cover both of their heads, but that would have earned him a smack from the girl.

It was within that comforting embrace that Megumin said what she meant to say when he gave her the earring.

"I'm glad you're alive."

With tears still falling, Kazuma tightened his grip just a little more before finally admitting what he wanted to that same night.

"I am too."

Verdia turned away at that. Listening in on the conversation had been rude to begin with, but it would have been criminal to continue invading this private moment. He turned around and came face-to-face with the snow sprite as it watched the scene with a curious chirp.

"Come along, little one." The former General said, gently guiding the small spirit away. "Let's not ruin their moment."

KO-NO-SU-BA!

"HA!"

The mighty yell echoed within the clearing, completely drowning out the grunts of exertion that followed each one. It was within this clearing, a fair distance away from the town, that Darkness spared with Arakuremono while her new mentor, Kuruseidā, watched with his sword planted firmly in the ground in-front of him.

Arakuremono was savage when it came to fighting. His attacks with a mace were wild and powerful as he continuously engaged his opponent leaving them to room to recover and come up with a plan. As if that wasn't bad enough, the man's strength rivaled that of a bear, so much so that Darkness often needed to block even his one-handed attacks with everything she had, even then her arms would shake as the Crusader struggled to push the man back.

He was the perfect opponent for one working on their defensive abilities.

Of course, those were the only abilities Darkness could train in.

It was embarrassing – no – absolutely humiliating watching Kuruseidā's disbelief during their first meeting as she explained her inability to hit an opponent – even those who did not move.

Another battle cry erupted from Arakuremono's mouth as he brought his mace down in a mighty swing which was just barely blocked by Darkness who felt her armored boots sink into the ground as the man in-front of her leaned closer in with a crazed look.

"Come on, blondie!" the man mocked, beginning to push the Crusader back. "Where's that fire in your eyes?! Back at the bar, I thought you would burn the whole damn place to the ground – it was so intense! Now it looks like you're struggling to keep an ember going!"

Feeling a fresh wave of anger and determination coursing through her, Darkness managed to halt the progress the brute was making, and, with a yell that started low and quickly gained volume, began pushing Arakuremono back. With one last push, the Crusader was able to knock the man off balance long enough for her to take a swing at him with everything she had, only for it to miss entirely.

Laughter erupted within the clearing as Arakuremono didn't even bother dodging the next two attacks before once again bringing his mace down too lock both of their weapons in a stalemate. "You just can't hit anything with that sword, can you?"

Darkness felt her face burn with a fresh wave of embarrassment, she racked her brain for a retort and said the first thing that came to mind. "S-s-shut up!"

The brute used his free hand to cover his mouth as a snort mixed with a laugh caused him to back away from the stalemate. That hand quickly moved to his stomach as the booming laughter that followed made Arakuremono fall over as he felt his sides begin to ache from the humor he felt.

Arakuremono was not the only one enjoying the scene, as Darkness soon realized, when Kuruseidā made himself known as his own laughter mixed in with the brute's. All the while, Darkness felt like finding the nearest cave to crawl in and hide as her entire body turned a bright shade of red.

"I want to die…" the Crusader mumbled miserably.

It took some time for the two men to calm down, and even when they stopped laughing the humor was vary apparent in their eyes.

"Eh, don't beat yourself up, not many people can block my attacks consistently like you do." Arakuremono said as he rested his weapon on his shoulder. "Damn shame you can't hit anything though, you could probably be the greatest Crusader out there if you did, right Kuruseidā?"

"I wouldn't doubt it." the man said with a smile as he approached the two. He reattached the sword back to his hip before crossing his arms as he looked Darkness over. "Are you feeling alright?"

She didn't verbally reply, but nodded as the red covering her body slowly receded.

"Then there's no need to wait, we can head out immediately."

"Head out?" Darkness questioned.

"I signed us up for a quest." The man clarified as he and Arakuremono began heading towards the tree line with Darkness jogging to catch up to them. "It's nothing difficult, but I figured it would be a good way to test a few things out."

Narrowing her eyes in suspicion, Darkness leaned forward a bit so her mentor could see how she felt. "What do you mean 'test a few things out?'"

Kuruseidā chuckled. "I guess I shouldn't be vague. We're going to see how well you can do with a shield."

"A… shield?" the Crusader asked.

Nodding in affirmative, Kuruseidā looked towards the brute who nodded as well, before looking back to his apprentice. "Like we said earlier, you can't hit any target even when they're doing nothing to dodge your attacks, so, we decided to try something different."

"Oh," Darkness felt conflicted about the matter. On one hand, it would be beneficial to use something that was meant to block attacks – at this point there was no denying her sword was more of an accessory then an actual weapon. However, and the woman felt her body heat up at this, she enjoyed the feeling of an opponent striking her exposed body. The feeling of someone dominating her in battle was one Darkness couldn't experience any where else. Verbal abuse was a close second though…

"Arakuremono, she has that look on her face again."

"Huh? Oh, give me a second."

-and Kazuma was extremely good at that. There wasn't anyone else Darkness had met that could scold her consista-

The woman was forcibly brought out of her thoughts when Arakuremono leaned close to her face and let out a belch with enough force to blow her hair in the opposite direction. Hair frazzled, and face scrunched up in disgust, Darkness used one hand to cover her nose while turning to glare at the brute.

The man let out another round of booming laughter as Kuruseidā sighed in exasperation.

"Goodness, you two are a handful."

Eventually, the trio reached the entrance to a massive looking cave at which point Darkness decided to ask a question.

"Where's my shield?"

There was a good stretch of silence following that question, long enough for Darkness to come up with the answer herself.

"You don't have it, do you?"

"…I probably left it back at my house." Kuruseidā admitted as he placed a hand over his face to hide his embarrassment. "You can use mine." He held out the yellow and white kite shield for her to take.

Darkness took the object gingerly before moving her left arm through the straps. It felt… weird. The extra weight on her arm was barely noticeable, but the fact that she was now going to have to use one hand to wield her sword while the other could block attacks would take some getting used to.

"What about you?" She asked as Kuruseidā drew sword.

"Well, unlike you, I can hit my enemies with my sword." The man said with a smile.

Puffing her cheeks out with indignation, the woman refused to say anything else even as she heard Arakuremono snicker from behind.

"Come on." Kuruseidā said, taking the first steps into the cave dungeon. "The enemies here shouldn't be too tough, especially with Arakuremono watching our backs."

"Heh, almost feel sorry for the poor bastards we're about to fight." The brute said with a crazed look to his eyes.

"Which is why it's the perfect place to practice using that shield." The other Crusader finished as the group walked down a large flight of stairs, relying on the wall torches to light their way.

"Yeah, you can watch our backs while we clear the area – make sure no one catches us off guard." Arakuremono added. "Or maybe you can keep a group busy while we pick them off one by one," he shrugged, "doesn't really matter to me."

"Right…"

The group passed through a small archway that served as an entrance to the first room. Several coffins lined the room's walls, made of wood so rotted it was a wonder they didn't turn to dust whenever a stray breeze blew by. Looking across the room, Darkness could see another archway, partially concealed by hanging moss and vines, that lead further into the dungeon. The moss swayed as a gust of wind, carrying the echoes of a whisper, blew though from deeper in the dungeon, snuffing out the torches that lined the walls of the room.

They relit a moment later with an eerie green flame replacing the calming orange glow.

"Awfully dramatic for a low-level dungeon." Arakuremono commented, eyeing the coffins, just waiting for them to do something.

At that, Kuruseidā shrugged. "I don't think there's any dungeon out there that that isn't a little over the top."

Without any warning, a skeletal hand broke through one of the coffin lids nearby, the action causing a series of spider cracks to form along the coffin. However, before anything else could be done, the entire coffin was unceremoniously demolished by Arakuremono as the brute had leapt forward and swung his mace down with great force. The skeleton had been ground into a fine powder underneath the man's incredible strength while its place of rest had shattered into several splinters.

"Who's next?!" Arakuremono called out, his face twisted with a maniacal grin.

Every coffin and tomb that had been slowly opening to that point slammed shut, and the torches regained their natural, orange glow.

"Arakuremono…" Kuruseidā started while pinching the bridge of his nose, "remember when I said we came here so Darkness could practice using that shield? How are we supposed to do that if you scare away all of the enemies?"

"Oh please," the man scoffed, returning to the center where the others stood – one looking at him in annoyance while the other awkwardly shifted back and forth on her feet. "She wouldn't have gotten any good practice with these enemies. I say we just head out and practice the good old-fashioned way." Arakuremono looked towards Darkness with a grin that showed all his teeth, causing the woman to gulp nervously.

"Hold on, hold on." The other man said with his arms raised in a calming gesture. "We still have the rest of the dungeon to go through before we decide anything else."

An iron gate came down the second Kuruseidā finished his sentence, effectively preventing the group from entering the deeper portions of the area.

"Heh," Arakuremono's grin grew a little wider.

"Oh…" Darkness finally spoke, although it sounded more of a despaired whimper than an actual sentence.

"Well…" the other Crusader's sentence as he processed the turn of events, making a mental note to never bring the brute on anymore training missions. "That's unfortunate."

KONOSUBA!

Clemea loved making tea.

It was a habit she picked up years ago after her mother made a cup for them both. People didn't really consider it a skill, but she knew better then most how different a cup of tea could taste when it was made by a novice or an expert, and Clemea liked to consider herself an expert on the matter. She liked coffee when a little boast was needed, and there was no denying that creep Kazuma was great at making it, but the Warrior could only achieve a state of tranquil bliss when she had a warm cup of tea in her hands.

Something Clemea desperately needed after her leader burned their house to the ground.

 _Happy thoughts. Happy thoughts. Happy thoughts._ The woman mentally chanted that line over and over as she relaxed her grip on the ceramic cup. Yes, she was still very pissed about the incident, and more than likely would remain so for a very long time. They hadn't been able to salvage everything in the short amount of time given, so there were a great many memories held in photos, journals, and random souvenirs that had been lost.

Clemea took a sip from her cup, sighing dejectedly as the liquid effectively drained her anger away, unfortunately doing nothing to rid the sadness she felt. "This is horrible…"

"I think it tastes great."

The Warrior screamed in surprise as her body jerked in the opposite direction of the voice, the motion causing the tea in her cup to slosh out onto the floor. Clemea looked towards the source of the compliment. "A-Aqua?!" she sputtered, trying to recall when the Arch-Priest had sat next to her, drawing a blank in the process.

Said Arch-Priest hummed in confirmation, moving to pour herself another cup while eyeing the small puddle on the floor. "Are you going to clean that?"

"Wha-?" Clemea, still very much confused, looked over towards the mess she made. "Oh, uh… yeah." She got up and grabbed a cloth to wipe up the mess. "Aqua… when did you get here?"

"A few minutes ago." She said, happily sighing after taking another sip of tea. "Why didn't you tell me you could make tea?"

"I did," the Thief replied, kneeling down to clean her spill, "I told you a while ago, actually."

"Did you?" Aqua questioned, placing a hand on her chin while looking up towards the ceiling. "I don't remember that."

"Well, memory isn't exactly your strength, Aqua." Clemea stood back up once the mess was wiped up, turning quickly to hide her smile as the Arch-Priest made a noise of offense. "Besides, it's been some time since I've done it."

The blue-haired woman tilted her head in confusion. "Why's that?"

Clemea shrugged. "Haven't had time, really." She admitted, dumping the now soaked rag into the sink. "With everything going on over the past few weeks, I just kept pushing it back until today."

"Well I think you should do it more often."

"Are you just saying that so I'll make you more tea?" The Warrior's green hair swayed as she turned to look back at her friend, who had the decency to blush as she looked down while mumbling an affirmative. Chuckling, Clemea turned back to the sink to rinse out the cloth. "I don't mind doing so, I really like making it. Maybe you could help me?"

"I would love to!" Aqua excitedly stood up with a large smile, her excitement, unfortunately, caused the entire teapot to tip over, spilling the entirety of its contents on the table and floor.

The Arch-Priest stared at the mess she made with a face as red as a tomato, and felt something damp land on her shoulder.

"Better clean that up before it dries." Clemea smirked as she moved to pick up the cups and pot. "It will be that much harder to clean if it does.

Letting out an exaggerated groan, Aqua took the cloth from her shoulder and began wiping up the spilt tea.

* * *

"HERE?"

"NO."

There were a few grunts.

"HERE?"

"A LITTLE MORE TO THE LEFT."

Verdia watched on with interest as Fio instructed Kyouya with minor adjustments to the rather large bullseye as it, and several more like it had been placed on the edge of the forest next to their house in varying distances. It had been the young Hunter's idea to set this makeshift range up as a means to both hone her skills, and serve as a past time should anyone else want to take up archery. There were even talks of holding a quick tournament after it was completed – something Verdia was actually looking forward too.

"RIGHT THERE!" Fio suddenly called out, causing Kyouya to freeze where he stood so he could lower the target into the ground.

"Why are they making an archery range?"

The former General looked to his side to see both Darkness, sans her armor, and Kazuma approaching the group with curious looks on their faces.

"A little side project our resident Hunter came up with." Verdia replied as the duo reached his side. "Care to join us for a test of skill?"

Kazuma raised an eyebrow. "Sure, but how are you going to do it without a body?"

"The same way I keep myself afloat."

"Ah."

"It sounds like fun." Darkness added, only to frown a moment later. "But isn't Fio the only one with a bow?"

"Yes, we will have to share it until we potentially get more."

The group of three heard Fio cheer, bringing their collective gazes back forwards where they saw the girl clasp her hands together as her party leader finished his work. The Sword Master stood up straight and used his forearm to wipe the sweat off his brow.

"Good, it's finished." Verdia began floating towards the range, with Darkness and Kazuma close behind, where he decided to be the first to congratulate the Hunter.

"Thanks!" Fio's smile widened upon receiving the praise

"I'm just glad it's finally done." Kyouya said as he walked back to where everyone else was.

"Is the 'Hero of Axel' winded after moving a few targets around?" Kazuma teased with a smirk.

"Hey, give me a break, we both know Gram and the armor gives me a huge stat boost!"

Before an argument could even start, Fio reached out to grab an ear from both of them before tugging down hard enough to earn an "Ow!" from the two males.

"No arguing you two!" The Hunter stated with no room for discussion.

"Yes ma'am…" Kazuma and Kyouya said, rubbing their respective ears.

Verdia blinked, before chuckling to himself. These children acted so much like his old team did yet so differently at the same time. If he were completely honest, it warmed his long-dead heart to see them interacting with each other. Being isolated from humanity, besides the occasional raid, had left him a hollow shell of his former self, but this group and all their interactions made him feel human – no, better than that…

It made him feel _alive._

Refocusing back on the group, the former General saw Fio demonstrating to the others on how to shoot an arrow so they could get started on the impromptu tournament.

"-you don't have to, but steadying your breath can make it easier, then, once the target is in sight, you release the arrow."

Fio did so, and everyone watched as the arrow within the bullseye, earning a round of applause from everyone watching. She did a quick bow, and continued to shoot the other targets, figuring she would be the first one to go, hitting every target while hitting a bullseye on five out of the seven.

Verdia decided to go next, using his telekinesis to operate the bow, and surprised everyone by getting the same score as Fio.

"What?" the undead asked, seeing their faces. "I used to work with one of the world's greatest archer's."

"I'm starting to think this tournament is rigged." Kazuma whispered, both Darkness and Kyouya nodded in agreement.

"I guess I'll go next." The Sword Master said, scratching the back of his head as he took the bow in his hands. The skill gap was made very clear when Kyouya missed three of the targets and barely managed to hit the other four. Dejected, the teen walked back with his head down while Kazuma patted his shoulder.

"Can't be good at everything."

Now his turn, the second party leader took the weapon from his friend's hand. After scoring much better than Kyouya, hitting six while getting a bullseye on two of them, the teen walked back with a little extra confidence in his steps.

However, once Darkness stepped up, everyone took a collective step back. Seeing this, the Crusader blushed furiously as she shouted back to them. "I-I'm not that bad!"

"The battle we had say's otherwise." Verdia replied, much to Darkness' humiliation.

Determined to prove them wrong, and secretly desperate at this point, Darkness took a deep, calming breath of air. Raising the bow to eye level, the Crusader readied an arrow as she focused on the first target. _Breath out and…_

She fired.

There was a collective gasp from the group, Darkness included, as the arrow not only managed to hit the target, but hit the exact center of it.

"Did… did she just…" Kyouya voiced the question on everyone's mind as the woman in question started jumping up and down, cheering with what could only be described as pure glee.

"I hit it! I hit it!" the Crusader repeated that several more times, joy still clear, Darkness turned back to the group with the largest smile they have ever seen on her face. "See! I can hit something."

"Seeing… still working on believing." Kazuma said, his face conveying how shocked he was.

"Don't forget about the other targets." Fio – while just as shocked as everyone else – felt an equal amount of joy for her friend.

"Right!"

Everyone soon found out that Darkness, the person who could never hit an enemy with her sword, had perfect accuracy when it came to using a bow and arrow, hitting every target dead center. Fio and Kyouya stepped forward to congratulate the Crusader while Kazuma and Verdia stayed back to process what they had just witnessed.

"To think, she's this accurate _without_ using any skills." Verdia muttered just loud enough for Kazuma to hear.

The Adventurer thought about for a little bit. "I would bet anything her accuracy would get worse if she did use a skill with it."

The undead laughed at that. "I think you are right, child!"

* * *

 **Done!  
**

 **Verdia is becoming one of my favorite characters in this story, although, that might be because he's almost a blank slate for me to use when it comes to making a backstory for him. That, and his interactions with everyone feels so natural to me, don't know why.**

 **Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed this, and I'll see you next time.**

 **Have a wonderful day!**


	10. Chapter 10

**So... how's it going?**

 **Truth be told, this wasn't supposed to take nearly as long as it did, but I kept changing so many parts or rewriting things entirely that it led too days turning to weeks and weeks turning into a few months. Now it's done, and I will stop talking to let you get started!**

 **Edit: This takes place during episode 9, the day before the Destroyer shows up.**

Chapter: 10

Kazuma was speechless.

Never before had he witnessed as much devastation as he had just now.

When he had given Megumin the mananite earring, he had done so with the understanding that said earring would provide a small amount of extra mana for the Arch-Wizard. The idea was that it would allow her to be able to stand up once the Explosion spell was performed. There were two things he didn't consider: a small amount of mana to a Wizard with decades of experience would be drastically different to a beginner like Megumin and himself, and that the Explosion-obsessed girl never had enough mana to perform her signature spell in the first place.

The results? Megumin still falls over after performing her spell, but said spell was now much more powerful than before, so much so that Kazuma had nearly been blown away by the resulting gusts of wind. The light and smoke finally cleared away enough for the Adventurer to view the destruction brought about from his friend.

Kazuma felt the air leave his lungs in a strangled gasp.

It was as if a damn meteor crashed into the area!

Standing on the edge of a cliff overlooking an abandoned rock quarry, Kazuma prayed this place was truly abandoned, the Adventurer could see the newly formed crater filling with molten slag that had been produced by the Explosion. The sheer size of the crater was nothing to laugh at either.

"That was… wonderful."

"Wonderful?!" Kazuma yelled, walking back to grab Megumin and bring the girl to his previous position. "Look at this! This is nothing to be happy about!"

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" Megumin asked in a dreamy whisper, seemingly ignoring her friend's fear driven anger. She leaned her head against Kazuma's shoulder, causing the hat to brush against his face.

Sighing in defeat, Kazuma moved the girl onto the ground a fair distance away from the cliff, and then made his way towards the lone tree on the hill where his staff rested.

"Going to practice your magic?"

Kazuma did a quick set of stretches. "Yeah. Might as well while we're here."

"Cool." Megumin adjusted the oversized hat so it covered her face. "I'm going to take a nap."

* * *

Clemea gave a grunt as she set down the final crate of food into the kitchen, having just spent the last twenty minutes moving various supplies to the area after their mysterious gift was made known – a large supply of red crabs. Beside her, Darkness placed a much larger crate down with ease.

"I still can't believe they sent us so much." The Crusader said as she looked around the area and sighed. "Honestly, we could feed the entire guild with this much stock."

"Yeah…" the Warrior muttered with narrowed eyes aimed at the woman beside her. "Must have cost them a fortune to send us so much."

"O-or they got it on sale." Darkness laughed nervously as her hand began to move towards her cheek, only to be caught unexpectedly by Clemea. "W-w-what are you-?"

"What aren't you telling me?" the girl demanded, suspicion radiating with every breath she took. "Don't try to deny it either, you have a nervous tick where you scratch your cheek, and you were just about to do that."

"Okay, so my family may in fact have more money than what's normal, that's not something that requires you to interrogate me though!" Darkness tried to sound tough. Clemea wasn't that impressed.

She'd seen looks far more fearsome in children half her age.

"More money and blond hair?" She added to Darkness' last confession.

"I-"

"We both know only a rare few individuals outside of noble houses have blond hair – mostly because those few were the bastard child of some horny nobleman screwing around with his maids."

Darkness blushed furiously at Clemea's words as her mind began to play out the scenario, replacing the maid with herself being cornered by a man practically drooling at the sight of his victim. Rough hands would grab hold and keep her pinned while he-

"Ow!" the Crusader yelped after Clemea pinched her arm.

"Stop. Making. That. Face!" the Thief's glare was becoming far more hostile the longer this lasted, Darkness was worried the girl in-front of her would attack if things weren't resolved soon enough. "Now, look me in the eye, and tell me the truth right now," and Darkness suddenly found herself staring at the tip of Clemea's dagger.

"Freeze!"

Before the girl could react, a thick layer of ice covered her dagger and arm. Clemea stepped away from Darkness to figure out who just did that and was completely unsurprised when she saw Kazuma – his staff pointing in her direction – with a look as frigid as the ice encasing her arm.

"You have less than ten seconds to explain why you were pointing a knife at my friend before I turn you into an ice sculpture."

Clemea felt an unexpected shiver run down her spine from the deadly tone he used. Despite that, she wasn't intimidated. "Come on, it's not like you're actually going to-"

Her eyes widened when he suddenly froze the bottom half of her body.

"Seven seconds left."

Okay, now she was a little intimidated. "I wasn't going to actually hurt her!"

With another swing of his staff, Kazuma froze Clemea's body and her other arm, leaving just her head unfrozen. Now just a few feet away from her, he gave one last warning.

"That's not what I asked you. Three seconds left."

"Stop."

Kazuma felt Darkness' hand on his arm as it forcefully lowered his staff until it was pointing to the ground. He turned his gaze back to the woman and was startled by what he saw.

The Crusader's face, normally relaxed while being accompanied by a gentle smile, was now a mask of regal elegance and beauty. Her posture was straight, but not rigid, akin to that of a queen standing before her subjects. Kazuma almost didn't recognize the woman standing before him.

"Dustiness Ford Lalatina is my real name." the noble woman admitted to Clemea, her voice as smooth as silk.

She stepped forward between her two companions, and with one quick strike, shattered the ice around the Warrior who could only blink in surprise at being freed so easily.

"My family governs this area. Something that we have considered an honor as we served to take care of both the land and her people for generations."

The silence lasted some time as the two teenagers processed the information. Kazuma was the first to speak up.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

Lalatina took note of his use of me instead of us. Shameful realization hit her hard as she saw the look of betrayal her leader was trying to hide. In her efforts to maintain anonymity, Lalatina had subconsciously kept her friends at a metaphorical distance, the results of which were only now apparent to the woman.

"When we first met, I did so with the hopes you wouldn't give me any special treatment. As time went on, and our friendship grew, I began to worry that if you did learn about my heritage, you would either use me for my status or change your attitude in an effort to avoid incurring my wrath – something people have done before. In the end my fears of that were alleviated, and it simply didn't matter in my mind whether you knew my real name or not."

"So why didn't you tell me until now?"

The noble shrugged, but Lalatina's uncaring gesture was betrayed by the mischievous twinkle in her eyes that reminded Kazuma of a certain Thief he'd been meaning to talk to for the past couple days.

"You didn't ask."

He had thought her shift in personality was a spur of the moment thing, but Kazuma now wondered if Darkness and Lalatina were two different people all together, simply sharing one body. It was a strange thought. One that wouldn't have surprised him.

"Well that explains that." The Adventurer muttered as he turned his gaze – which once again turned surprisingly sharp – onto Clemea. "But what that doesn't explain is why you threatened her.

The woman pinched the bridge of her nose and gave a frustrated sigh. He still didn't understand what she was trying to do at the time.

"I wasn't going to hurt her you damn idiot!" Clemea growled as she leveled a glare towards Kazuma, only to feel the tension leave her body when it was clear to her that getting angry wasn't going to solve anything. "I was just trying to intimidate her at the time and maybe got a little carried away."

"You were pointing a dagger at her." Kazuma pointed out, his features beginning to relax as it became apparent he was the one who overreacted in this situation. Something that he had a habit of doing.

Clemea – much like Lalatina – shrugged in response. "You'd be surprised how many people start talking if you merely imply a threat."

"It probably didn't help I was being so stubborn." The Crusader contributed, smiling as she saw everyone calm down.

"It never does," Kazuma smirked as he looked at his friend, "Lalatina."

And just like that, Darkness surged back to the surface as her entire face flushed from embarrassment. "Don't call me that!" the woman cried out, her noble beauty being replaced with child-like humiliation.

Laughing at her reaction, Kazuma turned around and began to leave. "Have fun cooking you two, I'm expecting nothing but the best tonight!"

"Wait, you want _us_ to cook the crabs?" Clemea asked, her amusement shifting quickly to surprise.

He paused at the doorway and leveled a serious look at the two women. "Yeah. I've been making nearly every meal with Megumin for weeks. It's about time someone else did it for a night."

Kazuma didn't wait for a reply as he left them alone with a kitchen full of red crabs.

Clemea was the first to say something after another brief stretch of silence.

"Please tell me you know how to cook these things. Crabs aren't my specialty."

Darkness surprised her once again by nodding. "Yeah, I loved helping out in the kitchen when it came to these kinds of meals. Although, that was mostly because I was promised dessert if I did."

KO-NO-SU-BA!

Kyouya whistled a jolly tune as he sat outside in the backyard, enjoying the warmth from the newly purchased heat lamps as he slowly worked on his wood carving skills. He had just finished setting the lamps around the area, now it was only a matter of time before the soil was warm enough to allow Megumin to start her new and improved garden – something everyone was excited about.

But the only thing that mattered to the Sword Master now was shaping this piece of wood into a smooth ball, figuring that working on simple shapes was a good start to his new hobby.

Ten minutes later left Kyouya bewildered as he stared at the horrible mess of wood in his hand because _how the hell did I screw it up so badly!_

"Are you really so surprised?"

The teen looked back and saw Verdia, with the snow sprite resting comfortably on his helmet, floating towards him.

"I really shouldn't be, should I?" Kyouya realized as he allowed the wooden abomination to fall from his grasp. "It's not like I expected to have it down instantly, but for it to end up that bad…"

"It's how people learn new skills." The former General explained as he reached the younger Sword Master's side. "Practicing, failing, and practicing some more, that is how most people acquire knowledge. They learn several ways not to perform whatever task they were working on, and eventual discover the right way to do it."

He _knew_ that much but knowing something and experiencing it were vastly different things.

Sensing his student's growing frustration, Verdia decided to switch tactics. "Try it again."

Kyouya frowned but reached down to grab another block of wood regardless, figuring it wouldn't hurt to listen. He picked up the carving knife to begin, and only managed one stroke before Verdia stopped him.

"Adjust your grip on the blade, you are holding it as if it were a weapon."

His frown deepened. There were other ways to grip a knife?

As if he were reading his mind, Verdia elaborated. "The way someone grips a knife determines how it will act. A chief requires precision and finesse while a butcher will cut with powerful chops. You are a Sword Master trying to become a wood sculptor, you're holding that knife as if you were about to carve an enemy not the wood you are holding."

Nodding in understanding, Kyouya furrowed his eyebrows as he looked over the tool in his hand. Repositioning his hand, the Sword Master continued were he left off. The second stroke felt much more natural than the first.

"Better," the undead watched the teen work on the block for another minute before floating away towards his post. Once there, he levitated the snow sprite onto the cushion Fio had made for the spirit. Verdia relaxed as he focused on nothing in particular, he would have smiled if he were physically able to.

* * *

"Megumin, would you stop squirming please? I can't clean your hair if you keep moving."

"I can't help it! Your fingers are digging into my scalp!" Megumin almost shouted as she turned to glare at Fio as the pink-haired girl – with a towel wrapped around her body – continued to wash the mud out of the Arch-Wizard's hair. It wasn't her fault Kazuma had set her down on a patch of mud.

"Can you two stop shouting, I'm trying to relax…" Aqua happily sighed as she submersed herself deeper into the bath. "Oh… this is wonderful…"

Fio forced Megumin to lean forward as she poured another bucket of water on the girl's head, watching as another chunk of mud came loose. "Almost there," she muttered, running nimble hands through her friend's hair.

"Finally."

The Hunter did one more pass with her hands, frowning when they were caught on something. "Uh oh."

"What do you mean 'Uh oh'?" Megumin demanded as she felt something gently tugging her head.

"You've got a knot." Fio explained as she felt out how much hair was tied together. "Aqua, can you help me with this?"

"Do I have too?" the Arch-Priest complained, already moving out to stand beside the Hunter. She blinked upon seeing the lump in Fio's hand. "Oh wow, that's a big knot."

"Here."

Aqua accepted the comb that was handed to her, she then got to work, expertly working out the knot as Fio continued to run a small amount of water through Megumin's hair while the little girl grit her teeth. The process still hurt despite Aqua's expertise.

"Are you almost done?" Megumin was at the point where she would have preferred if they simply cut it out.

"I will be after one more… there we go!" Aqua smiled as the comb ran through the girl's head without any resistance. Damn she was good at this! The Arch-Priest mentally congratulated herself.

"Thank you, Aqua." Fio took back the comb and looked over Megumin's hair one more time. "And it looks like everything's out now."

"Finally!" Megumin immediately moved from the stool she was sitting on into the main bath tub, easing into the water with a joyous exhale.

* * *

Sometime later – long after the sun had set for the town of Axel – the group of friends came together at the oversized dinner table, waiting patiently as Clemea and Darkness finished bringing out all the food they prepared.

Kazuma eyed the spread before him in confusion. He was excited to be sure, but there was a lot more than the eight of them could eat on their own. There was a knock on the door before the question could be vocalized.

"I'll get it." The Adventure stood up from his spot on the table and went to answer the door. "Wiz?" Kazuma asked upon seeing the busty lich smiling at him.

"I was invited to have dinner with all of you tonight." She answered the implied question, thanking him when he stepped aside to allow her entry.

"Who invited…" Kazuma's brain connected several dots in rapid succession. His eyes widened, and even as he cried out a warning as she began making her way further into the house, Kazuma knew it was already too late.

"HO HO!" Verdia appeared in the hallway, a blush somehow present on his helmet as his lone eye focused intently on Wiz's sizable bust. "Whoops!" the undead yelled as he moved forward and ended the levitation spell, causing his head to begin rolling towards the bottom of the lich's dress.

"Oh no you don't!" Kazuma stepped in-front of the startled woman and used his foot to block Verdia's path. "You are not doing this while I'm around!"

"Damn it, child! There are very few things I have left. The least you can do is let me have this!"

"Why the hell would I let you look up Wiz's dress?!"

"Umm…" Wiz hesitated as she watched the exchange, but her quiet voice was enough to get their attention. "Should I leave?"

Both men replied in the negative – one much more enthusiastic than the other.

Kazuma groaned. "You can go ahead and grab a seat, we'll be there soon enough."

"A-alright." She replied with the tiniest amount of uncertainty, before quickly bowing in thanks and heading into the dining room.

Kazuma waited until she was out of sight before picking up the General's helmet to fix him with a stern look. "Behave tonight. The last thing we need is to scare off Wiz due to your stupid urges."

Verdia glared, saying nothing for a few moments. "Very well." He finally relented with a sigh. "I suppose it would be better to try to reconnect with her. Although, I don't know how willing she will be to talk, with me being the reason she turned herself into a lich and all."

The Adventurer blinked. "Excuse me?"

"A story for another time," Verdia replied, levitating himself back to the main group, leaving a confused Kazuma behind.

 _Sounds like one interesting story to me._ Kazuma shrugged, knowing he could just ask the undead about it at a later date. _Now to get back and enjoy-_

There was another knock on the door – far gentler then Wiz's.

 _Now who could that be?_

He opened the door, allowing him to the familiar face of the old woman who ran that mage shop with a basket filled with various pastries in her arms.

"Well hello dear." The woman greeted the Adventurer.

"Megumin invited you?" Kazuma guessed which earned him a nod from the shop owner. "Figured as much. Everyone's inside if you want to join them."

"That sounds lovely." She said, walking in the direction he pointed.

There was a simultaneous cry of "Dessert!" once she entered the dining room.

Kazuma shook his head with a smile. At times it felt like everyone in this house acted like children. It certainly made things interesting. He moved to close the door one more time only for it to slam back open with great force.

"A little rude to close the door in your guests faces, don't you think?" A booming voice asked. From the open doorway both Arakuremono and Kuruseidā walked in, the former carrying an entire roasted pig over his shoulder while the latter had an oversized pot strapped to his back.

 _Darkness,_ Kazuma didn't even bother asking the duo who invited them. He looked at the food they were carrying with a raised eyebrow. "Why did you bring that with you?"

"Wasn't this supposed to be a potluck?" Kuruseidā asked, looking to the brute who only shrugged in return.

"Hell if I know, you're the one who told me I should bring something for everyone."

"So you brought a pig?" Kazuma questioned.

Arakuremono smirked in reply.

"Doesn't matter at this point, there's no way we have enough space for everything and everyone here. Kazuma also had a sneaking suspicion that there was going to be a lot more people coming within the hour. He walked back into the dining room and demanded to know one thing.

"Who here invited people over today?"

Everyone in the room raised their hands, including the people who had been invited.

 _When could they have possibly done that?!_

He needed to focus, because now the Adventurer knew there were more people coming, and there wasn't a single room in this mansion that could hold everyone coming and all the food they had – especially if more was brought by the coming guests. Kazuma pointed this out and was pleasantly surprised when Fio immediately came up with a solution.

"Let's have a picnic!"

KONOSUBA!

This was just ridiculous.

Kazuma stood a fair distance away from everyone as he simply took in the scene before him. Several tables had been brought outside to hold the various items brought by their guests: frog legs from Luna and the guild staff, three different kinds of salads made by the herbalist shop owner and her husband – they were great friends with Aqua and Clemea apparently, and various other foods and beverages. Fires were set up to keep pots piping hot while Arakuremono sat by another one with his roasted pig, continually rotating it while simultaneously carving it for anyone who wanted some.

The amount of food brought was only surpassed by the number of people who came. Kazuma figured more than half of the guild had come over, he was glad those heat lamps had been set up, there would have been a lot of people complaining if they weren't. He was also glad about the amount of space their backyard had, just enough for everyone to spread out into their own social group – with some people switching between multiple circles.

An entire stand had been set up for Aqua – who was already getting drunk if the blush on her face was any indicator – to perform her party tricks for everyone's entertainment. She occasionally brought someone up to help with the performance, whether or not that person wanted to do so was totally irrelevant to the tipsy Goddess.

"Crazy, isn't it?"

Kazuma glanced to his side and say Kyouya standing next to him with a plate of food in one hand and a drink in the other. His fellow party leader was all smiles as he took in the madness with his own two eyes.

The Adventurer couldn't hold back the snort that had been slowly building up for the past ten minutes. "Which part? The fact that our little group managed to accidentally turn a simply diner into a massive gettogether, that seven people somehow invited almost an entire guild's worth of people in a short amount of time, or that we have a floating head – accompanied by a snow sprite – talking with a talented Crusader about another Crusader's masochistic tendency?"

They looked over towards where Kuruseidā and Verdia were and saw the duo laughing while Darkness, who was right next to them, turned her head in the other direction with a huff.

Kyouya's smile widened marginally. "She is definitely an entertaining conversation topic." His eyes lost some of their mirth as the Sword Master looked down at the food in his hand. "Do you ever miss it?" he asked after taking a bite.

Kazuma closed his eyes. He didn't need Kyouya to clarify what he meant. Random memories popped up; long nights staring at a computer screen, grinding for a single piece of valuable loot, occasionally eating with his parents. "I miss my mom and dad." Kazuma answered wistfully. It… hurt, knowing he would never see them again. At the same time…

"But I'm glad I came here," _to this good for nothing world._

Kyouya hummed in agreement, the bonds made here were far stronger than any he had in the other world.

"Any reason you asked me?"

"Just feeling a little homesick, no big deal." Suddenly feeling a pair of eyes focused in their direction, the Sword Master began scanning the area until his gaze fell on Megumin, standing with that mage show owner and another wizard he didn't know, looking at Kazuma with fondness that was clear as day for anyone to see.

Realizing she had been caught in the act, Megumin blushed and refocused on the magic-related conversation she was having, only to blush harder when she saw the knowing looks the two other mages were giving her.

The Sword Master mentally chuckled at the Arch-Wizard's embarrassment.

"Kazumaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

Kyouya saw the Adventurer's shoulders sag as he turned his attention to Aqua, who was stumbling over to the two of them with a mug in each hand – it was probably something alcoholic, though that was usually a given when it came to Aqua.

"What?" The deadpan expression on his face almost made Kyouya laugh. It was weird how well that expression suited him.

"You should… you should-" the Goddess hiccupped and started giggling uncontrollably. Once she was close enough, Aqua slung an arm around her party leader's shoulder, accidentally dumping the liquid from that mug onto Kazuma's side in the process. The teen didn't even twitch in reaction.

The Sword Master was impressed.

"You should come join me on the stage." Aqua whispered as if it were supposed to be some kind of secret, only to raise her voice drastically on the next part. "It would be so much fun!"

Kazuma used his now soaked arm to pry the Goddess off of him. "Aqua, remember what I said about learning party tricks?"

Her eyes scrunched up as she tried to recall what he said – either that or Aqua was taking this long to understand the question. She perked up a moment later. "That you wanted to learn them!"

"The complete opposite actually."

Aqua blinked. "Eh? What do mean you don't want to learn them?!" Her face twisted with drunken anger and she suddenly leapt back to take an improvised boxer stance.

Kyouya looked between the stumbling Goddess and his friend, raising an eyebrow when he noticed Kazuma wasn't doing anything in response. "Are you just going to stand there?"

"Yep."

"Not even going to try to fight?"

"Don't need too."

Before Kyouya could ask what he meant, Aqua took a single step forward, her fist reared back to deliver a strong punch, only for her eyes to glaze over as she fell onto the ground face first. Soft snoring could be heard a moment later.

"How did you-?"

"That Goddess is _super_ weird." Kazuma replied before the question could be finished. "Aqua can't get angry while she's drunk otherwise she'll pass out for no apparent reason." The Adventurer shrugged. "It doesn't make any sense, I know, but that's what happens."

"Wow, that is…" Kyouya wasn't sure how to respond to that bit of information. It surprised him as much as it didn't, because that sounded exactly like something that would happen to Aqua.

 _I love this group!_ He laughed despite himself, earning a strange look from his fellow party leader.

* * *

"-and throughout the entire battle she was demanding if I would violate her!"

Both Kuruseidā and Verdia broke down with laughter as the subject of their humor stood close by, her face flushed with embarrassment while she clutched her mug in a grip so strong one could hear the wood creaking in protest if they were close enough. For almost an entire half-hour the two men had been sharing stories about Darkness' tendencies – much to the younger Crusader's horror. It didn't seem to be ending anytime soon.

Never in her wildest dreams did Darkness ever imagine a well-respected and powerful Crusader would ever get along with an undead that used to roam around as one of the Demon Lord's Generals. And here it was, happening right before her eyes. The woman growled to herself, feeling a fresh wave of embarrassed anger wash over her, causing the grip around the wooden mug to tighten even further. It began to crack underneath her impressive strength.

"You're going to get splinters if you keep that up." A happy voice chided her, causing the female Crusader to whip around to… to… well she didn't know what, but it wouldn't be pleasant.

"I-!" Darkness felt her retort fizzle out as her brain quickly identified the familiar face smiling with a wine glass being held in deceptively delicate hands. "Hi Chris." The Crusader greeted, her posture relaxing instantly.

Smile widening, Chris looped an arm around Darkness' own, and began dragging the woman away. "Don't know why you were hanging around those old timers, they're horrible conversationalists – unless their telling stories that is."

That wasn't true, both of them knew that, but Darkness decided to play along if it meant getting away to hang out with her first, real friend.

"Now come on!" the Thief said, moving a little faster while her innocent smile revealed itself to be a smirk. "Let's cause some trouble!"

* * *

This drink was amazing!

Clemea had to suppress the urge to sigh blissfully as she took another sip of warm alcohol from the crab skull. Aqua's suggestion quickly spread throughout the crowd, and now there was a fire set up specifically to heat up the skulls filled with various drinks. Luna was the one in charge of that fire, she was struggling to keep up with the high demand.

The green-haired woman chatted pleasantly with Fio and a few other girls from the guild, she wasn't normally into the kind of gossip her pink-haired companion participated in, but the combination of good food and alcohol was making Clemea loosen up far more than normal.

"Come on, Clemea!" One of the girl's demanded, bouncing up and down erratically having consumed a large amount of sugar in a short amount of time.

The warrior struggled to remember her name – _Was it Mira?_

Possibly Mira continued. "When are either of you going to nab Kyouya? I know the two of you have been after him for awhile now, but you better hurry! Word on the street is that the local baker's daughter is going to ask him out within the month!"

"Don't care. Not interested in him anymore." Clemea said, earning shocked looks from everyone in their circle save Fio who was looking down with a small blush.

"What?! Why?" Mira's eyes, which had been comically wide upon her declaration, narrowed suspiciously as she leaned in close to the Warrior's face.

"Because…" Clemea started, using a finger to push the girl out of her personal space, "he never showed any interest to either me or Fio, I honestly can't remember why I was into him in the first place, and finally…" she paused a moment for dramatic effect, "Kyouya also burned the house down."

"He does seem more interested in Darkness than either of us…" Fio mumbled to herself but loud enough for all of them to hear.

Green hair swayed back and forth as Clemea shook her head. "That's not saying much, he might enjoy being around her more than the others, but you can't forget they did fight together against the Winter Shogun. Probably feels some kind of warrior comradery with the Crusader." She blinked as a distant memory came to mind of her and the Sword Master fighting together against a small group of bandits.

 _That's right! That's when I started to get a crush on him. If their following that pattern though…_

Clemea's eyes sharpened as her head whipped around to scan the crowd for a head of blond hair and another of light brown. It took a second, but she was able to spot her party leader and her noble friend – _still getting used to that last bit of information if I'm being honest_ – standing a fair distance away from each other. However, neither of them would need to turn their heads to look at the other, so…

 _There!_

Time seemed to freeze for Clemea as she watched both Darkness and Kyouya glance in each other's direction. It lasted less than a second, but the observant warrior was able to clearly see something in that look. The moment passed, and both Noblewoman and Sword Master returned their full attention to their respective group. Clemea, however, saw everything she needed to.

There was something there. What, she didn't know, but the woman had seen that kind of look enough times to know those two shared a strong bond. She took another sip of her drink and turned back to the group, ignoring the weird looks some of them were giving her.

* * *

It took quite some time for the party to calm down, all the food and alcohol present made sure of that, but the energy did begin to diminish once the food ran out – which it miraculously did despite the amount they had. Luna was then able to get everyone organized to help clean up the area which the two parties were grateful for that as they worked with the people to move furniture back in place and helped a few others clean the many dishes.

After a full hour of clean up followed by another ten minutes of saying goodbyes to everyone it was finally over, and everyone collectively sighed in relief once the door was finally closed.

They wished each other a simple good night and left to their respective rooms.

Well… most of them did.

Kazuma stared up into the night sky, curiously looking at all the stars. He wasn't all that tired, having spent most of the party sampling all the various items instead of stuffing his face with just one like he had planned in the beginning. With everyone else going to bed however, the Adventurer didn't have many options to entertain himself.

"Couldn't sleep?"

Tilting his head back as far as possible, Kazuma was able to see Megumin as she climbed out onto the roof still clad in her dress sans the hat and eyepatch. She was wrapped up in a thick blanket to ward of the cold left over as winter slowly switched over to spring. A short joke came to mind, but Kazuma decided to save it for another occasion.

"Just not tired enough to go to bed yet." He replied as the Arch-Wizard came forward and sat next to him. Kazuma maintained his laid-back posture, feeling no real need to sit up so the two of them were eye level, he was out here to look at the stars after all.

"You don't mind if I join you, right?"

Weird question considering she was already with him, but Kazuma shrugged, saying he didn't really care.

"We haven't done something like this in a long time." Megumin whispered, her voice only being able to reach the Adventurer thanks to a sudden breeze.

"You mean relax?" His question made her giggle as she easily caught the sarcasm buried underneath the serious question. Kazuma smiled, her laughter was music to his ears. The teen was barely able to maintain his calm demeanor upon that sudden revelation.

Megumin calmed herself down to look at her friend – he noticed the humor made her eyes shine even brighter than normal. "I meant look at the stars." She turned her gaze back up to the glittering sky, her smile and posture taking a more serene quality.

"I guess so," Kazuma agreed, making himself a little more comfortable before continuing, "but it's not something that interests me that often."

"Really?" Megumin was genuinely surprised by that, he always seemed to be looking up at the stars every time they were outside at night. Maybe she had been misinterpreting the action.

He nodded. "I really only do it when I get homesick – which isn't often mind you." He added the last part upon seeing the brief flicker of worry in the Arch-Wizard's eyes. "What about you?"

Mildly startled that she became the focus of the conversation, Megumin stuttered the first part of the sentence. "I-I do miss my family and friends." The girl pulled her knees up to her chest, resting her chin on them while turning to look at Kazuma with a guilty expression. "I write letters to them, but… am I a bad person for not visiting them?"

 _Woah!_

Kazuma shot up to an upright position, fixing his friend with a serious look. "Where is this coming from?"

She was silent from a long moment, but Kazuma had become very patient in the relatively short amount of time he'd been here in this new world, so he was more than capable of sitting there quietly while waiting for Megumin to formulate her answer.

Finally, she spoke.

"Before I met you, I traveled for a long time trying to join a party. Every place I went too followed the same pattern ours did: They see I'm an Arch-Wizard and invite me to a quest, I perform my magic – much to their amazement might I add…" she was beaming with pride at that, but it quickly died down as her body language became more solemn. "Then I would fall over, and they would ditch me the first chance they got."

The memory of their first meeting replayed itself in Kazuma's head, and he silently wondered if the same thing was happening in Megumin's, but then he processed her words completely and realized it wouldn't have just been their first day she was remembering.

"I did this for _months._ " The girl tightened her grip around the blanket, turning her head to look away from him. "I never sent any letters during that time because I knew there wouldn't have been a return address, and that would have raised several red flags in their heads." Megumin almost smiled. "They would have torn apart every town they came across trying to look for me."

Kazuma raised an eyebrow.

Ignoring the look, Megumin continued. "It wasn't until we became an official party that I started writing to them again – even then I kept things vague just in case things didn't work out."

With a start, the Adventurer realized the direction this story was going, and he thought back the conversation he had _just today_ with another party member. Kazuma was starting to see a pattern.

"Surprisingly though, things did workout, and my letters became so much more detailed while theirs began to focus less on worrying over me to describing the daily events going on back home. However, I haven't gone to visit them in such a long time."

Kazuma decided now was a good time to contribute to the conversation. "You miss them, I get that much, but that still doesn't explain why you think you're a bad person for not visiting them."

"Because I didn't _want_ to see them." Megumin replied, looking back with unshed tears gathering in her eyes. "I set out to become the greatest Arch-Wizard using only my Explosion magic and going back – to me at least – would have felt like giving up, so I kept going, believing that the next group would be the one to accept and help me with my dream. That's why I want to know, because I left my family behind to chase after a barely-thought-through dream and didn't go back because of my pride."

Kazuma was wholly unprepared for an emotional confession such as that and was equally unprepared to answer a question that revolved around a girl – a few years his junior – going through a process of self-reflection that most people twice his age wouldn't bother dealing with.

When did things get so complicated, he came outside to look at stupid stars for crying out loud!

He needed to think of something and fast, because if he didn't come up with an answer soon, Megumin would probably take his silence as a hesitant confirmation of her worst fears. So, Kazuma did what he did best…

Improvised.

"You're not bad," the Adventurer started off, assuring both the emotionally vulnerable girl next to him and himself, "so you don't need to worry about that."

The hopeful look she was giving him held enough hesitation to make him continue.

"People do that sort of thing all the time where I'm from – some parents actually expect that kind of thing to happen. Whether or not that kid of theirs succeeds or not never really matters, they only want to make sure their okay in the end." Kazuma looked up towards the stars once more before starting up again. "Everything you've done so far is perfectly normal: wanting to fulfill your dream, explore the world, make new friends. Your parents just want to make sure you're ok and were happy when you finally started talking to them again."

"So, no, Megumin, I don't think you're a bad person. The fact that you care so much only confirms that for me."

That was it. There was nothing else he could say on the matter without repeating the same message, so Kazuma decided to keep his mouth shut while he looked at all the stars filling the night sky.

He didn't say anything when Megumin scooted closer to him and leaned her head on his shoulder.

He didn't say anything upon hearing a quiet sniffle from the girl next to him followed by his shoulder getting damp from silent tears.

He didn't say anything when his friend muttered a 'thank you' to him, her words distorted from the sobs she was desperately trying to hold back.

No.

He didn't say anything, but he did raise an arm up to draw his friend closer, silently offering all the comfort he could give.

It was there, underneath the night sky, his friend by his side, and the entire town before him at peace as it waited to come to life in the morning that Kazuma felt certain of one thing.

 _Tomorrow was going to suck._

* * *

 **And there we go folks, the end of season 1!**

 **Now, I know what some of you are thinking, but I've already decided to skip the Destroyer fight entirely since, much the Verdia fight I skipped, there wouldn't be enough of a difference from what happened in the show. However, this is a good thing since it allows me to immediately start Season 2 where the changes become even more apparent, I hope at least.  
**

 **Anyway, wanted to give a big thank you to every who's favorite, followed, and reviewed this story. It never fails to bring a smile to my face knowing someone enjoys my story.**

 **And, as always, I hope you have a wonderful day, and I'll see you in season 2!**


	11. Chapter 11

**This chapter feels a bit more... musical than the others.**

* * *

Chapter: 11

 _You know… I shouldn't be surprised this happened._

Kazuma really should have known this would happen eventually. Nothing ever really did go his way in this world. At the time though, he had thought the Destroyer potentially demolishing his home would have been the cause, but it hadn't. Of all things that could have happened, no one – absolutely no one – would have predicted that the town for beginners would have been able to not only stop that mobile fortress from doing what it did best, but also defeat it entirely with no loss of life whatsoever.

Word had spread fast across the land about the brave warriors who took it upon themselves to face the Destroyer to protect their town, only to surprise everyone – including themselves – by emerging as the victors.

However, that wasn't the only bit of news spreading quickly.

The Destroyer's core had landed on a very powerful nobleman's home, obliterating it and everything within a half-mile radius. Luckily no one had been around the point of impact, Kazuma firmly believed that his high luck was the cause of that. Unfortunately for the Adventurer, that explosion had been considered an attack, now they were investigating to determine if he was in fact a spy for the Demon Lord – it didn't help once they found out Verdia Dullahan was with him.

Speaking of whom, Kazuma glanced at the only other occupant of his cell. The former General had made himself comfortable on one of the pillows they had been provided with and was currently playing the harmonica of all things. It was weird, but hilarious at the same time. Sensing his gaze, Verdia stopped playing and looked up at him.

"What is it?"

"Nothing," Kazuma said, feeling his lips twitch up at how absurd the situation was, "just didn't know you played the harmonica is all."

"It has been a few decades since I last practiced." Verdia admitted, levitating the object to the side to focus on the conversation. "It felt rather appropriate to start again, given our current circumstances. Would you like to learn how to play?"

Kazuma frowned as he considered the offer. "I've never played an instrument before…"

"Then this can be the first one you practice with," the undead had the object float towards the boy, watching with interest as his companion caught the object and looked it over. "Now," Verdia conjured another harmonica for himself, "the first thing to do is know which port produces which sounds and to learn how to isolate each one…"

It was hours later that Sena found herself leaving the comfortable office space and heading over towards the only cell occupied in the building, having just finished writing her initial report while coming up with a list of questions to maximize the amount of information they could gain from the spy. Despite her professional demeanor the woman was giddy at the thought of being the one to gather so much information. Someone with such a close connection to one of the eight Generals had to know more than any regular informant would.

Her musings slowed down the closer she got to the cell as her ears began to pick up the sound of music echoing throughout the hallways. The music stopped briefly and what sounded like a conversation lasted for another brief moment before the music started once. Sena frowned and quickened her strides. Rounding the last corner, the prosecutor was met with a strange sight.

Her two prisoners were playing a song with their harmonica's. Verdia was clearly leading as his parts were far more complicated while Kazuma's part seemed to consist of supporting notes that made sure there was always at least a single note playing. Stunned by what she was seeing, Sena merely stood there, listening to their song while slowly relaxing to it. The former General finished a rather impressive string of notes and the two prisoners ended the song by playing the same note together, allowing it to fade away into silence soon after.

"Impressive work, child, we will continue this later." Verdia said as his instrument disappeared from view. He then turned towards the prosecutor, drawing the Adventurer's attention to her as well.

Sena's demeanor immediately switched to that of a professional. "Satou Kazuma and Verdia Dullahan it is time for your first session of questioning." She then nodded towards the two guards standing on either side of the cell where they quickly unlocked the door, moving in to cuff Kazuma and place a mana seal on Verdia.

The undead grumbled at having to be carried around once again.

"Is this really necessary?" Kazuma asked, deciding to voice his own complaint.

Sena ignored them, focusing instead on leading the small entourage towards a small room that held two small tables – one in the center and another in the corner – along with a small stand with a magical lie detector on it. The guards forced the prisoners to sit down on one side of the center table while Sena herself sat on the opposite side, she waited just long enough for the recorder to get himself situated before starting.

"We will start with a simple test and confirmation. You are Satou Kazuma and Verdia Dullahan, correct?"

The two confirmed this, and after checking to make sure the bell didn't ring, Sena began in earnest.

* * *

"What if we-?"

"No."

"But if they were distracted-!"

"Still no."

"I've got it! We can-"

"Absolutely not!" Clemea finally yelled, grabbing Aqua's shoulders and forcing the woman to sit down on the couch. Fixing the Arch-Priest with a stern look, she told her exactly what they were going to do. "Nothing. We are going to do nothing, because doing anything will only make him look guilty. Do you understand, Aqua?"

The Goddess sat there, staring at her green-haired friend.

"Aqua?" the warrior questioned when her friend didn't respond for a good amount of time.

 _Stare…_

"She's right, you know." Kyouya piped in, his eyes focused squarely on the chessboard between him and Darkness. Finally deciding on a move, the Sword Master picked up one of his pieces and moved it to the desired location, he frowned when Darkness performed her next move without hesitation. "It would be better just to let them sort it out with the authorities, we know he's not working with the Demon Lord, so all we need to do is wait for them to prove themselves innocent."

"It won't be that easy, actually." Darkness crossed her arms and leaned further back with a pensive frown. "This trial isn't truly about discovering if Kazuma is a spy or not – despite what everyone else may believe – it is focused more on Aldarp punishing the person responsible for destroying his mansion."

The other three group members sat in silence as they processed that information, each of them silently grateful that Fio had taken Megumin out shopping a little while ago.

Clemea was the first to speak up, horrified realization flashing across her face. "If this becomes an actual trial, that bastard will rig it to make Kazuma guilty no matter how much evidence is presented."

"Exactly." Darkness agreed, though, she had a few solutions in mind should things escalate that far.

"But that doesn't change the fact a trial won't occur so long that Kazuma proves he's not associated with the Demon Lord without a shadow of a doubt." Kyouya argued, focusing entirely on the conversation. Placing a hand on his chin, the Sword Master's frown deepened as he finally realized something. "Which will be a lot harder since Verdia is with him all the time."

"Not to mention the amount of time he spends visiting Wiz at her shop."

Aqua huffed. "He has horrible taste when it comes to the company he keeps."

Clemea smirked at the Arch-Priest. "Is someone jealous that Kazuma would rather hangout with undead rather than them?"

"I'm not jealous!" the Goddess angrily cried out, pouting like a child as she made her way towards the door. "I'll go hangout with that… _lich_ …" she shuddered violently, "just to prove to you how not jealous I am!"

Aqua left with one final huff, slamming the door on her way out.

"Is there a reason Aqua hates the undead so much?" Clemea asked, looking between Darkness and Kyouya, hoping one of them had the answer. "She's borderline psychotic when some one even mentions them – let alone actually seeing one."

The Crusader shrugged in response and while the Sword Master had a pretty good idea, he simply shook his head, deciding it wasn't a subject for him to bring up.

"The only person who could possibly answer that is Kazuma, he's known her longer than any of us." Darkness replied while clearing the board when it became apparent neither she nor Kyouya were too invested in the game anymore.

Clemea narrowed her eyes as she examined the Crusader. Something was… off. "You're far too calm right now," the warrior noted.

"I may have asked a friend to help out." Darkness answered her, the woman's eyes were positively glowing with mischief.

* * *

Kazuma yawned as he tried to make himself comfortable on the bedroll he had been given. The interrogation had taken several hours to complete with half of it simply involving the Adventurer denying any tie to the Demon Lord these people accused him of having. Verdia's presence had made things somewhat easier since they focused more on him during the ordeal. Speaking of whom, Kazuma turned onto his other side to see the undead resting comfortably on the second pillow they had been provided with.

"Something bothering you, child?" the former General asked, his one eye remaining closed.

"A lot of things if I'm being honest." Kazuma rolled onto his back to stare up at the ceiling. "The biggest one being this trial itself."

Verdia remained silent as he waited for his cellmate to specify what he meant.

"A beginner's town stopped a monstrosity that had wiped out an entire civilization, did so without any casualties _or_ damage to the town itself, and now we're on trial because the only option we had left to prevent the destruction of our home was to use a teleport spell to randomly send away an explosive core. A core which, and there is no way for me to stress this enough, destroyed an empty mansion that I guarantee that stupid noble has more than one of!"

"He actually has seven extra ones actually, not including the various summer homes he has scattered around." A familiar voice informed.

The two prisoners looked towards the cell door where they saw Chris as she deactivated her invisibility spell, she leaned forward, grinning at the them with that infamous smirk of hers.

"Hey Chris, how's it going." Kazuma greeted while sitting up to look at his soon-to-be partner in crime. He made a mental note to tell her his decision before she left.

The Master Thief shrugged in response, juggling a few coin pouches the Adventurer knew didn't belong to her. "Pretty good, most of these guards seem to be well paid, and pretty lazy from what I can tell."

"How so?"

"No one's come back to guard your cell," she gestured towards either side of the cell where Kazuma finally realized that there was in fact no one around. "Guess they don't consider either of you a threat."

Her teasing earned an annoyed huff from the former General.

"Okay… so besides making some easy money, what exactly are you doing here?"

"Helping you two out," Chris replied honestly, pocketing the money. "Switching out some of the testimonies, getting rid of some false evidence, that sort of thing." The woman shrugged as if it was no big deal.

Kazuma was a little surprised. "Seriously?"

Looping her arms through the bars and then crossing them to make herself comfortable, Chris raised an eyebrow at the Adventurer. "What, didn't think I could do something like that?"

"No, no, it's not that, just surprised you did is all."

"Honestly, I probably wouldn't have if Darkness hadn't asked me too." Chris looked down one of the hallways, alerting both Kazuma and Verdia to the approaching footsteps. She turned back to her friends and held a finger to her lips before disappearing from view.

A guard passed through the area, briefly glancing at the prisoners before continuing his patrol.

"Just make sure you don't do or say anything stupid, and you should be good to go." Chris whispered, keeping her spell active in case any more guards came.

"I guess I owe you and Darkness when we get out of here then." Kazuma lowered his voice as well. "Tell you what, you can keep most of the loot when we go on that heist together."

The teen heard his friend snort in amusement. "I guess that's one way to tell me your coming, and another reason to help you out as well. Just give me a few weeks to get everything ready, I promise you won't regret it."

Kazuma nodded his head in response, and although neither of them could hear it, they knew Chris had silently left, probably getting out of the area before she ran out of mana.

"This certainly makes things easier for us." Verdia muttered, more to himself than anything. He suddenly sighed, catching the Adventurer's attention, and glanced up towards the narrow window above them. "I was wondering when you would show up…"

Floating through the iron bars was the familiar form of the snow sprite, chirping with glee as it settled itself next to the undead.

"I'm honestly starting to wonder if that thing thinks your its dad with how happy it is around you." Kazuma's teasing comment earned another sigh from Verdia.

"I'm worried you might be more on point with that remark than you intended."

Deciding to just simply enjoy the opportunity given to him, Kazuma allowed himself to let loose a round of laughter that echoed through the hallways.

Two days later saw the trio of captives leaving their less than cozy cell and stepping outside with a particularly large smile on the Adventurer's face.

"Ah… sweet freedom!" The interrogation sessions after Chris' visit went by quickly as Sena slowly came to accept the fact that Kazuma was, in fact, not a spy along with the embarrassing fact that she was holding the teen prisoner with no substantial evidence whatsoever. Her face turned a bright shade of red when both her captives pointed this out. Being able to do nothing else about it, Sena released the three of them – the snow sprite refused to leave the General's side throughout the whole thing – on the condition that they continue to be monitored, by herself of course, on the off chance any incriminating evidence should turn up.

Verdia found himself reevaluating his opinion of the prosecutor upon hearing that. Sena not only managed to let them off scot free but did so in a way that would satisfy her higher ups, the citizens and guild members who would have caused a ruckus if Kazuma had been given a serious sentence, and on top of all of that, she gave herself a mini vacation while getting paid to do so.

That smirk on her face while giving them their punishment had confirmed it for the undead.

"Glad to see you two are finally out!" A booming voice greeted the trio, startling the snow sprite so bad it hid behind Verdia in fear.

"Arakuremono?" Kazuma questioned, seeing the brute walking towards them with his usual grin. The teen's gut told him this wasn't going a to end well for him. "Wasn't expecting you to be the first one to greet us."

The giant of a man lost his grin and began to stretch the back of his head, unknowingly confirming Kazuma's fears. "Yeah, well…"

"What's did my friends do this time?" Kazuma's voice shook with barely contained annoyance, because of course nothing would work out in his favor. "They didn't burn down the mansion, did they?"

Arakuremono chuckled at that. "No, but you'll probably want to see what's going on yourself."

KO-NO-SU-BA!

There came a point in time in everyone's lives where they come to realize how far they're willing to go for the people they care about. Whether it be friends, family, and everything in-between. Would they watch from the sidelines, stand beside them to face anything and everything that came their way, or would they simply abandon them to preserve themselves? Everyone thinks they'll react a certain way, so sure of it that it wouldn't even occur to them that they would react another way entirely.

Today was the day Kyouya realized just how far he was willing to go as he stood – steadfast – against a large group of soldiers who were ready to break into his home to confiscate anything of value. They even had the gall to order him to stand aside, claiming they were under orders from Aldarp himself to raid the mansion so Kazuma could begin paying off the damages done to the noble's own home.

The Sword Master was having none of it.

All of the commotion caused from their exchange had attracted the attention of the Guild, and once the situation had been explained to them, a task that had ended in a shouting matching between one of the lead soldiers and Kyouya, the guild members were quick to join the Sword Master's side in defending the mansion – they would not let the savior of their town be punished.

Tensions were high as the two groups stared each other down. Weapons had been drawn, glares were being exchanged, and any wrong move would cause a massive fight to break out.

A high pitch whistle then interpreted the stand off – the noise was so loud some of the nearby people had to cover their ears while everyone else winced in mild discomfort. Both factions turned towards the noise where they saw Arakuremono, Kazuma, and surprising everyone was Sena as well. The latter of whom was gazing at her respective group with a look that made them feel like children about to be lectured by their parents.

Sena stepped forward, obviously intending to deal with her side first, her voice as strong as steel. "What do you all think you are doing?!"

"Ma'am, we have orders from Aldarp to-"

The prosecutor didn't allow the now nervous soldier to finish. "And is Aldarp your commanding officer?"

Unable to come up with a proper answer, the man merely stuttered while Sena continued her questioning.

"Have you been ordered to follow his command?"

"…No…"

"Then understand this," Sena made damn sure to look the man in the eyes so he could see how furious she was, "Satou Kazuma's interrogation was handled by me, his punishment was given by me, it will be handled BY ME!" her voice held such power the entire group of soldiers took a collective step back in fear.

"Aldarp's word is _not_ law in this land, _mine is!_ This is a grave misuse of his power, so much so that I am launching an immediate investigation to find out if there have been any other instances like this. Until then, you are hereby _ordered_ to return to your posts and resume your regular duties. Am I clear?"

The soldiers gave a collective salute. "YES MA'AM!"

As one, they all turned around and began marching out of the area.

All those who had witnessed the woman verbally tear apart the group shuddered while having a single unanimous thought.

 _Scary!_

"Now then…" Sena readjusted her glasses and turned her piercing gaze to Kazuma, who subconsciously stood a little straighter in response. "I trust you can handle everything else on your own."

He merely nodded in reply, too afraid to say anything in reply.

"Good, then I shall be on my way. Expect me to return tomorrow so you can begin serving your sentence."

There was a long stretch of silence that followed that declaration as everyone watched Sena leave the area. Arakuremono was the first one brave enough to speak, his face far more serious than ever before.

"I'm going to marry that woman."

The reactions that followed varied from surprised yells all the way to one guy actually choking on his own spit from the coughing the Brute's words had caused.

"Now then," focusing his attention on the other guild members, Arakuremono crossed his powerful arms and frowned at the group, "the rest of you head back to the guild now. We're going to be having a nice, long chat about how you should and should not act towards the Imperial Guards."

Everyone groaned in response but did as they were told.

Arakuremono nodded with satisfaction and turned towards the young party leader to grab his shoulder. "Don't worry," he laughed having just stopped the boy before he could head towards the guild himself, "you can stay home and get some proper rest, I know those disease infested rags they call beds can be extremely uncomfortable."

"They were diseased!" Kazuma cried out in alarm, his voice rising a few pitches by the end.

Laughing once more, the man managed to get the Adventurer to relax after explaining to him it was just a joke. "But enough talk about boring shit like that!" The feral grin returned in full, and the man cracked his neck as he made his way towards the guild. "Get some sleep, kid. If you need me, I'll be dealing with our knuckle-headed guild!"

Kazuma simply waved in goodbye, finding himself too exhausted to say anything in response.

"Why is it there never seems to be a dull day whenever you're involved in something?" Verdia wondered aloud, his gaze taking on a faraway look as if he were trying to figure out a lifelong mystery. The Snow Sprite copied the look.

"I don't know!" The teen gave an exaggerated shout while his body language conveyed an equal amount of annoyance.

"Regardless," Verdia continued, "let's head inside and grab something to eat."

"Yeah, some good food sounds nice right about now."

* * *

"Ok, I know we can do this." Fio once again paused her work in repairing the small tear in Megumin's dress to give the girl in question an encouraging smile. "We just need you to keep a steady tempo. Just do that and we can handle the rest."

The Arch-Wizard nodded her head while bringing the flute up to her lips. With a single breath to fill her lungs, Megumin began to play a calming tune that seemed to travel all around them.

Closing her eyes and allowing the music to envelop her, Fio began to sing with a voice as beautiful and dazzling as a starry night. Clemea sat just opposite of the pinkette, her head bobbing in tune to the music as she waited for her part to come up, and when it did, she took over with a voice as passionate as a raging fire. When her part came to an end the two of them joined together to sing the chorus, their voices coming together with spectacular results.

As the two of them finished the first chorus, Megumin sped up the tempo allowing the two women to start their next parts with increased energy until they repeated the chorus once more to que Megumin to speed up one more time. When the they finished the final line of the song, the young girl beside them allowed the final note to linger a little while before lowering the instrument from her lips.

Breathing a little heavier than normal, Megumin gave the two of them a thumbs up.

Neither Clemea or Fio had time to congratulate their friend before Aqua, who had shown up at some point during the song, started clapping and cheering excitedly. Her applause was joined by a much more subdued Wiz. The Lich's appearance mildly surprised the group.

"That was amazing!" Aqua gushed as she ran forward to clasp Clemea's hands in her own. The Arch-Priest looked at the Warrior with stars in her eyes. "Why didn't you tell me you could sing? We could have been performing musical numbers at the guild!"

"Because we only sing the one song." The green-haired warrior replied, relaxing her arms so Aqua's excited bounces didn't make them sore. "Besides, it's the first time we've done it in months."

"It was very nice to do it again, though." Fio was smiling as she turned to greet Wiz, who stepped closer to join their circle.

"It was a very lovely song." The busty lich complimented as she clasped her hands together. "I've never heard it before…"

Clemea answered the unasked question even as Aqua continued to ramble next to her. "It's a song from our village actually. Personally, I think it sounds much better when a large group performs it with the appropriate instruments."

Fio wholeheartedly agreed.

"By the way, not to sound rude, but why are you here Wiz?"

"Ah, Aqua was kind enough to invite me to join you all for lunch today." The woman's explanation caused the mentioned Arch-Priest to freeze in place.

Clemea kept her head pointed in the shop owner's direction while moving her eyes to glance at the stunned Goddess. "Oh, is that so?"

Wiz nodded to confirm it. "She has been visiting my shop more often recently. It makes the day go by much quicker with her company, Aqua has even helped me clean up before closing."

"Really now?" the warrior didn't bother hiding her amusement as she watched the embarrassed blush cover more and more of the Arch-Priest's face until it conflicted quite nicely with the bright blue hair.

Megumin used their loud conversation to slip away back into the mansion, deciding she should probably get dinner started if she wanted to finish in time. The girl frowned hearing the sound of someone eating in the kitchen, everyone should know she didn't like it when people did that. Walking through the doorway, Megumin froze on the spot when she saw a familiar green mantle and a head of brown hair facing away from her.

Obviously hearing her entrance, Kazuma turned around, a half-eaten sandwich in his hands, and looked at his friend. Neither of the two said anything right away, one was surprised while the other didn't know what to say, but Megumin's shock disappeared first as she let out a quiet exhale.

"I was going to make dinner soon."

Kazuma swallowed before speaking. "Sorry, I didn't know what time it was."

The girl made a noise of displeasure, quickly covering it up by grabbing an apron from a nearby hook and tossing it to her party leader. "Then you can make up for it by helping me out, we can make a big meal to celebrate your release."

"You know I would have helped you regardless, right?" He caught the article of clothing and began to put it on.

Megumin turned around to hide her blush while putting on the other apron herself. "I know."

KONOSUBA!

The nights in Axel were always spectacular: all the stars shining as bright as a torch, the moon sometimes filling the sky with its radiant glory, and almost no noise to distract someone from its beauty.

Kyouya took his sweet time walking back to the mansion, after being able to finally leave the guild after a ridiculously long lecture from Arakuremono, simply breathing in the cool, night air. A small smile decorated his face as the teen watched a shooting star streak across the sky. There was a small part of him that wanted to make a wish, a notion that seemed a tad childish to the Sword Master, but he figured there wasn't anything meaningful to ask for.

His casual stroll eventually came to an end as he reached the gate of the mansion, taking another short moment to fully appreciate how fortunate they all were to end up in a place like this, pointedly ignoring the circumstances that caused him and his party to end up here as well. Kyouya quietly opened the gate and then the door in the off chance everyone was already in bed having no real idea how late it was. He took off his boots and placed them next to the others before heading further into the mansion.

Passing by one of the main rooms, Kyouya frowned as he saw a few lanterns still lit, providing just enough light to illuminate half of the room, allowing the Sword Master to see Darkness – clad in her nightgown – as the woman carefully examined the chest board in-front of her.

"Darkness?" Kyouya's voice startled the Crusader who looked up to stare at her friend.

"I was wondering how long it would take for you to get home." She smiled at him and rearranged the board, so everything was back in place. "Arakuremono wasn't too harsh on all of you, was he?"

Taking the seat across from her, Kyouya shook his head and offered Darkness a smile of his own. "Not really – all things considering. Just took a long time for him to finish is all. I'm almost certain the man could have lectured us for another hour without pausing." He chuckled a little, being joined by Darkness as she also laughed at the idea, their laughter mixing pleasantly together in his opinion.

"Well I'm glad he didn't, I don't think I could have stayed up that much longer." The Crusader admitted, intending it to be a joke only to receive a frown from her companion instead.

"You didn't have to stay up to wait for me." Kyouya said quietly, his voice still strong enough to reach Darkness who's smile became far gentler in response.

"I would have done it for any of you." Darkness' demeanor momentarily sagged as memories and nightmares weighed on her conscious. The moment passed in an instant and a smile returned to her face. "Although, there probably wasn't any real point knowing you were simply down at the guild."

Kyouya had noticed her moment of sadness but decided not to comment on it. "Wanna play a quick game?" he gestured towards the board, hoping a friendly game would cheer her up a little more.

The excited gleam he saw in her eyes told him it worked.

* * *

"Chomusuke. Its name is Chomusuke."

Kazuma sucked in an irritated breath of air through his nose as he stared at the strange looking cat Megumin held out towards him. This… was not something the Adventurer wanted to deal with right now. Having just found out they were out of coffee beans for some stupid reason, Kazuma had already been in a bad mood, then he found Darkness and Kyouya asleep in separate chairs with a half-finished chess game between the two of them, annoying him further somehow, and now Megumin decided to bring in a new pet. The one they had was already bad enough.

Verdia's snow sprite – while incredibly adorable – caused several problems around the place from either cooling down the bath water, annoying whoever was cleaning up at the time, all the way to freezing the pipes outright. The Undead promised that he would either teach the spirit to control its freezing presence or implement a simple barrier that would limit its range greatly.

Now there would be a second creature running around the place, but Kazuma was more worried that if he allowed his friend to keep this one then the others would want to get a pet of their own. This place was already chaotic enough _without_ small animals running about.

"Where did you get this cat exactly?"

"I found it." Megumin replied as she brought the creature back to her chest, clutching it with one arm while petting it with the other.

"It's so cute!" Fio gushed as she reached out to pet the small animal.

"Whatever," Kazuma sighed, knowing there was no way for him to convince the small Arch-Wizard to leave that thing where she found it. "I'm going to go get some coffee beans." He left immediately, slamming the door in the process. The loud noise startled Kyouya awake.

"Wha…?"

"We're under attack!" Darkness cried out, somehow still asleep. Leaping forward, the Crusader slammed into the Sword Master, knocking over the chair in the process while the two of them slid across the floor. They landed in a compromising position with Darkness on top, straddling Kyouya's waist while she pinned the teen's hands above his head.

Kuruseidā had taught her several restraining maneuvers that would allow her or a teammate to capture a target. Unfortunately for Darkness, some of the techniques were a little… erotic when used outside of battle. Like now for example.

Opening her eyes slowly, Darkness let out a big yawn as her mind began to properly wake itself up with the first thing the woman's brain processing was the warm sensation underneath her hands. The second, once Darkness fully woke up and opened her eyes, was Kyouya's beat red face as he opened and closed his mouth several times without uttering a word each time.

"What the hell is going on down – whoa!"

A voice to her side captured Darkness' attention where she saw Clemea looking at her with wide, startled eyes, Fio covering Megumin's eyes with a blush clearly present on her face, and the mentioned Arch-Wizard trying to remove her friend's hand off her face.

"Why is everyone making so much noise." Aqua complained as she appeared next to Clemea, wiping the sleep out of her eyes and looking at Darkness soon after, her face quickly mirrored Clemea's. "Oh my! I didn't realize you two were so intimate!"

Darkness blinked. "What do you…?"

"Damn it Darkness, couldn't you two do this somewhere else?!" the warrior demanded, her shock giving way to embarrassed anger.

Fio, knowing the situation wasn't what it looked like, tried to explain what was going on. "Clemea, they aren't actually-"

"I need to go tell everyone." Aqua interrupted, her body moving shakily towards the door as if she were short circuiting.

"Aqua, wait!" Fio let go of Megumin to chase after the Goddess.

"Darkness…"

The timid voice brought her attention back to Kyouya who had finally found his voice.

"Could you please get off me?"

As far as requests went, that one was simple enough to understand, but not knowing the situation prevented the Crusader from understanding it completely. Taking a few seconds to figure out the position she was in, Darkness quickly regretted waking up at all.

From the position he was in, Kyouya was able to watch blood creep up Darkness' neck all the way up her face as a strangled gasp escaped her lips.

"It's not what it looks like!" the woman shouted, first to the Sword Master and then to the group still watching them, before jumping to her feet to stand as far away from Kyouya as possible. Covering her face with both hands, Darkness couldn't help but mumble, "I want to die," as she tried to think of a way to properly explain the situation. One thing was certain though.

This was not the kind of humiliation she wanted to wake up too.

* * *

 **Poor Darkness, she just doesn't get the same abuse she use to. Nothing else to say, really, but I do want to thank everyone who's patiently waited for this chapter to come out. See you all next time, and have a great day!  
**


	12. Chapter 12

**Man, I'm just horrible at updating. Like, the worst. Oh well.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter: 12

The Adventurers Guild was known for many things in the beginner's town: a place for young and eager citizens to get evaluated to determine if they had what it takes to become an adventurer, somewhere to go after a rather difficult job to enjoy good food and drink, and most recently – as well as most notoriously – as a place that could easily descend into complete chaos at any moment.

Right now, being one of those moments.

Kyouya screamed as he broke through one of the guilds windows, scattering shards of glass and bits of wood across the ground while the Sword Master in question landed on his back with his feet resting behind his head.

Another window, the one next to Kyouya's, broke in a similar fashion as Kazuma experienced the same fate as his friend, landing on his stomach with his ass in the air with a very frustrated look on his face. "Damn it!" the Adventurer yelled, turning to Kyouya. "What the hell did you say to them?!"

"Why do you think I said something?!" the teen demanded as he moved to sit up, matching Kazuma's glare with one of his own. "That bastard bumped into _me_ and I even apologized for getting in his way!"

"Is that all?" Kazuma's anger was slowing being redirected towards the group that had tossed them through the windows, speaking of whom…

The entire wall of the guild broke apart as one of the larger tables broke through, clearly intending to crush the two teens while they were down, but a quick ice spell from Kazuma allowed Kyouya to easily shatter the piece of furniture into tiny shards with a strong punch. It hurt like hell, but the Sword Master ignored the pain in favor of focusing on the group of three men glaring at them.

"We're not paying for that!" Kazuma called out, glancing at Luna to make it clear his group would not take responsibility for the damages happening right now.

The receptionist ran both hands down her face in exasperation, but nodded regardless, she would just charge the other group for it since it was their fault in the first place.

"I really hope you have a plan." Kyouya whispered as he got into a basic fighter's stance, being mirrored by the men in-front of him. "Otherwise this will be an incredibly short, and painful, fight."

Kazuma had a devilish smirk on his face, one that made his friend shudder in response. "Oh, I've got a plan alright, just follow my lead!" with that, the Adventurer dashed forward towards the men, surprising everyone there in the process.

 _Damn it!_ Kyouya inwardly screamed as he took off after his friend.

Once Kazuma was within striking distance of the first guy, he ducked another the man's sloppy punch, sliding between his feet while using Freeze to cover the ground in a slick layer of ice. Kyouya, seeing this, smirked as he jumped to avoid slipping before delivering a flying punch to the man's face, knocking him to the ground.

The Adventurer was already on the second man by the time his buddy had hit the ground, hopping over the hastily through right hook and using the extended arm as a springboard – silently using Drain Touch in the process – to get the necessary height he needed to attack the third person with a double kick to the head that left him staggering.

Kyouya used the distraction to shoulder bash the second guy into the third, the force being strong enough to send them both far enough back to crash into one of the tables, effectively knocking them out.

It was silent for a moment as Kazuma caught his breath from the minor exertion while Kyouya appeared to be completely fine. That silence vanished as the guild erupted with loud cheers, having just watched the spectacle that just happened. Some of the guild members came forward to thank the duo for entertaining them, before returning to what they were doing previously as if nothing had happened.

The staff members sighed as they began the annoying process of cleaning up their guild's mess… again.

"'Just follow my lead?'" Kyouya gave a short laugh once he finally calmed down, a smile making itself known even as he raised an eyebrow at his friend.

Kazuma shrugged. "It worked, didn't it?"

Snorting at that, but not arguing against it, the Sword master glanced around at the damage caused by the short fight and frowned. "Fio isn't going to be happy about the mess we caused."

As sweet as that girl was, there wasn't anyone she couldn't scold if enough trouble was caused, Kyouya was pretty sure even a raging bear would cower beneath her powerful gaze.

"Not unless we don't tell her." Kazuma suddenly suggested, bringing his friends attention back to current situation. "I doubt anyone here would tell her anyway."

A loud cough caught their attention where they saw Sena, her usual work clothes forgone in place of an ankle length skirt with a blouse and matching jacket, making her stand out greatly in a hall filled with warriors and mages alike, staring them down with Verdia snickering beside her.

"We are so busted." Kyouya muttered dejectedly, his despair matched only by Arakuremono's amusement as the brute sat on the Prosecutor's other side with a large mug in hand.

"But it wasn't our fault!" Kazuma comically called out in some vain attempt to convince the woman to give them a break.

She was having none of it. "That does not excuse you to take matters into your own hands. What if this skirmish had continued out in the middle of the street where regular civilians were walking by? Even a simple Tinder – a spell I know you frequently use – could set the town ablaze in minutes."

"We have. An entire guild. Full of people who could put out a fire!"

"The child has a point." Verdia chimed in, much to Sena's displeasure. "However, there is no denying the wisdom behind her words," the undead continued as he changed conversation partners, "there was no need to make such a display as simply freezing their feet would have ended the fight just as quickly."

"Or they could have just asked one of the staff members, considering everyone who works here knows at least one restraining spell." Arakuremono added.

Kyouya scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "I didn't know that…" his defense trailed off lamely as it became clear to the Sword Master a fact like that should have been obvious to him.

But Kazuma saw a problem with that new bit of information. "Then why haven't they done anything in the last few months?"

Arakuremono gestured to himself. "Because I told them not too, this place is a lot more entertaining with you kids around to make a scene." His explanation earned a look of disproval from Sena.

"Why would they oblige such a request though?" Verdia asked, far more interested in that piece of information than the previous ones.

It was at this point that Arakuremono lost his grin as he looked around the group with a stunned look. "You mean, you don't know?"

"Know what?" Sena asked.

The brute smirked. "That I'm the Guild Master!"

"WHAT?!" the entire group erupted with surprise, their collective confusion causing Arakuremono to laugh.

"It's true." Luna confirmed, gathering every one's attention. "He has been in charge of this guild for over a decade now, and I must say, it's never been this prosperous before."

"Oh, come on, Luna, give yourself some credit, we both know this place wouldn't have lasted another week if you hadn't shown up!"

His praise brought a blush to the receptionist's face even as she shared a laugh with her boss while everyone struggled to accept the newest fact. Especially since none of the other guild members never mentioned there was a Guild Master for this one in the first place.

Kazuma, being one of the first to recover from the shock, walked over to the bar to get himself a drink.

* * *

On the other side of town sat a relatively small dojo, its interior lined with training mats and equipment to prevent any form of injury while practice was being held. It was on one of these mats that Megumin fell on with a pained groan, having just been thrown over Clemea's shoulder rather easily – both of them wearing a simple Gi to train in for the time being. The green-haired warrior wiped the sweat off her brow and held out a hand to help Megumin back up.

"Think you've got the technique down now?"

Megumin rubbed her sore back while nodding her head.

"Good," Clemea got into a ready stance, patiently waiting for her partner to do the same. "Now," she started once the girl was in position, "you need to remember it's not about your own physical strength but using your opponents against them."

"I know that already!" Megumin composed herself before continuing. "It's just a lot harder to do it is all."

Clemea agreed with that as she dashed forward, purposefully missing a punch to allow the Arch-Wizard to grab her arm. The little girl braced herself, intending on throwing the warrior over her shoulder, only to miscalculate horribly by pulling Clemea towards her, an action that sent both of them falling to the ground.

Growling in frustration, Megumin pushed the laughing warrior off her, making her way towards the changing area, intent on leaving.

"Megumin… Megumin come on…" Clemea called out between bouts of laughter, reaching out to grab hold of the girl's hand. "I'm sorry I laughed at you, but that doesn't mean you should quit, we just have to practice a little more is all."

Megumin yanked her arm away. "I don't even know why we're doing this in the first place! You just dragged me out here, told me to put on this ridiculous outfit, and then forced me to do all these weird exercises with you."

 _How is this anymore ridiculous than your regular outfit?_ Clemea shook the question away, knowing it would anger her friend even more, and focused on the topic at hand. "Because, like I said when we got here, I need to know you can defend yourself both magically _and_ physically." She bent down a little, so they were eye to eye. "Your potential as a mage is nearly limitless, but if an enemy were to get in your personal space, what would you do?"

"I…"

"…would use explosion magic?" it was less of a question and more a statement, one that made the Arch-Wizard blush in embarrassment. "As powerful as that spell is, it wouldn't do you any good in that kind of situation. So, knowing you would never bother to learn another spell, I decided it would be in your best interest to learn some self-defense."

"Doesn't that defeat the purpose of having a party in the first place?"

Clemea sighed, knowing that was a good point. With Darkness switching roles to be an archer with the defensive perks of a crusader, Megumin wouldn't need to worry about anyone getting close to her with that wall of a woman acting as a deterrent. But still…

"Look… I'm just worried about you is all."

Megumin's face scrunched up with confusion. "Why?"

She smiled, placing her hand atop the Arch-Wizard's head. "Because you're like a little sister to me, and as your older – not to mention more experienced – sibling, it's my job to make sure you can handle yourself out there."

"You know I have a little sister myself, right?" Megumin questioned, realizing after she asked that there wasn't any way Clemea could have. "I guess I'm just trying to say I understand how you feel – even though it's a little embarrassing to be on the receiving end of that attention."

"But teasing is part of an older sibling's job." Clemea's smile turned mischievous. "Like how I know how you really feel about your party lea-mmph!" The sentence was forcibly ended by Megumin covering her friends mouth with a single hand. Her entire body was now matching the color of her eyes.

With her head lowered so Clemea couldn't see the mortified expression on her face, Megumin struggled to maintain a pseudo-calm tone as she asked her question. "How many of you know?"

"All of us except the one that really matters." The Warrior replied after prying the hand off her face. "Which is probably the most surprising part of this situation, especially since it's pretty obvious to all of us that he feels something for you too…" Her sentence trailed off as she watched a multitude of expressions appear on the Arch-Wizards face, ranging from shocked-horror to tentative-hope.

It was cute to watch.

"Is it really that obvious?"

Not exactly the question she was expecting, but Clemea rolled with it easily. "To everyone besides you two? Yes. Some people at the guild are making bets on how long it will take before you two start dating."

Oh, how Megumin wished she were wearing her hat right now, it would have allowed the girl to pull it over her face to hide away and ignore the teasing. Unfortunately, that piece of clothing was on the other side of the room, far out of her reach. "This is so humiliating."

KO-NO-SU-BA!

"Is this the place?" Darkness asked, giving the rather plain looking shop a onceover.

"Sure is!" Fio moved to enter the shop, hesitating once she placed a hand on the handle. "Word of warning, the owner is a little… weird."

The Crusader arched an eyebrow at that. "Weird?"

"Yeah, she's very professional, but her methods are very unusual – especially to first time customers."

"Is it really any stranger than what we deal with on a daily basis?" Darkness stepped through the door first, ignoring her friend's protests in the process. She walked up towards the front desk, taking a look around during the short walk to admire the many bows and accessories around, and tapped the bell once she was there.

"Coming." A drowsy voice called out from somewhere in the back. Stepping through the doorway, a middle-aged woman with waist length hair yawned as she approached the desk, adjusting a metal headpiece back into place. "Welcome to Yumi's bow shop emporium – home of Yumi's one of a kind, hand crafted bows. My name is Yumi, how can I help you?"

Darkness glanced over to Fio, who was giving her a look that screamed 'I told you so,' and decided to ask the question on her mind later, focusing instead on what she came her for. "Hello, I was told you're one of the best crafters in the town, so I was wondering-"

"I am." Yumi forcefully, yet somehow lazily at the same time, interjected, cutting off the Crusader in the process.

Expecting her to continue, Darkness patiently waited for the shop owner to say something else. After a full minute of complete silence, with the Crusader feeling ever more uncomfortable by the second as the woman before her stared back without so much as a blink to break eye contact, Darkness decided to finish her sentence.

"…I was wondering if you would be willing to make a bow for me?"

Half-lidded eyes slowly turned from her to the pinkette next to her. "Fio, you probably know her since you're here together, so, can you tell me if she's worth the effort?"

Now slightly offended, Darkness opened her mouth to protest, only to stop when Fio's gentle, but surprisingly firm, grip forced her to look over and see the woman shake her head in warning.

"She is," the Hunter answered honestly, getting a tired nod in response.

"Alright," Yumi sighed, adjusting the headpiece once more so a lens came over one of her eyes, followed by the shop owner leaning forward, very much in Darkness' personal space, and began what could only be described as a bizarre eye exam. "Near perfect eyesight," she muttered, the faintest hint of amazement in her voice.

This examination went on for a little while as Yumi went on to test Darkness' strength, how calluses her fingers were, her stance when using a bow, and on and on the testing went, each one growing more bizarre than the last – _seriously, what did smelling cabbages have to do with making a bow?!_

Darkness found out the answer almost a full hour later.

"You just wanted to keep me busy?!"

Her shout did little to phase Yumi, who merely ate a grape in response. "Pretty much," the woman answered as she glanced down at her sketch pad, having been secretly working on her new client's bow. Plucking another grape from the bowl beside her, Yumi unapologetically gazed at Darkness as she plopped the small fruit into her mouth. "The only reason I do this…" she paused to swallow, "hmm, that's good. Anyway, I do this because it gives me time to design it, so I can then show it to my newest customer to see if there was anything else they wanted, and second, so I can give them a rough estimate of how much it's going to cost."

As far as reasons go, that one was good enough for Darkness to forgive the shop owner for essentially wasting her time. Although, she probably should have known something was up the second Fio started laughing about halfway through the exam.

"Welp…" Yumi tapped her pencil against the notepad, drawing the Crusader's attention to it. "What do you think?"

Darkness took the item to inspect the design, blinking in surprise once she discovered the level of detail put into it: There were several numbers too the side describing the force behind each arrow, a list of possible enchantments that could be added, there were even open slots incorporated to the design to allow the addition of rune placement should she desire as much. One of the notes in particular caught her attention.

"It's going to be made of metal?" The Crusader questioned, getting a shocked look from Fio.

"Kinda has to be." Yumi replied, taking back the book. "No one as strong as you ever needed a bow – not from me at least. To be honest, if I gave you anything other than specially tempered ironwood, I'm worried it would shatter against your full strength. It makes my job a little harder, but the payoff of using metal for both the bow and the string should be nothing short of spectacular."

It was really starting to unnerve Darkness how unenthusiastic Yumi seemed to be about everything but grapes. Speaking of which…

"Want one?" Yumi asked, offering the fruit just mentioned.

Deciding it would be best just to accept, Darkness took the grape and ate it, pointedly ignoring Yumi's fascinated look.

Fio coughed to draw the shop owner's attention. "So, Yumi, how much is this going to cost?"

The shop owner shrugged in response. "Probably a lot."

* * *

"I am so sorry I doubted you." Darkness apologized as she stepped outside with Fio in tow.

The Hunter smiled. "To be fair, I didn't really do a good job of warning you, but at least you're getting a strong weapon once its finished."

That was in fact something Darkness was excited about. The fact she would soon receive an item that would allow her to finally, _finally_ , strike her opponents almost made her squeal with delight.

"Oi, what are you so happy about?"

Having not heard anyone in-front of her, Darkness yelped, taking a full two steps back, ready to apologize to whoever she was about to bump into, only for the owner of the voice to register in her brain. "Kazuma?" the Crusader questioned, wondering why her party leader was wandering around town, especially since he and Kyouya were supposed to be picking out a quest for their group to take either today or tomorrow.

Obviously seeing her confusion, the teen explained himself. "Got in a little trouble with Sena – it wasn't my fault!" Kazuma added seeing the look Fio was giving him. "Anyway, now I need to grab my staff and practice my spells with one of the local instructors. It's supposed to help me control them better, so I don't cause any collateral damage by accident."

"But you only know the basic spells." Fio pointed out with Darkness narrowing her eyes ever so slightly.

"I said the same thing! But that, apparently, wasn't a good enough excuse, so… yeah."

Darkness suddenly stepped forward, literally pushing herself into the conversation. "I'm going with you."

Her statement made Kazuma suspicious. "Why?"

"Because I do not trust that woman." The Crusader answered honestly, startling the other two as Lalatina's personality bubbled to the surface. "Her opinions are swayed far too easily when the barest amount of information presented. I will not deny that she has helped us by acting as an observer for the Imperial Guard instead of assigning someone else to the task, but she did so to benefit herself more than us. You may think I am paranoid, but there many things about subterfuge that neither of you have any idea about."

"And you do?"

His accusation hardly phased the noble. "My family governs this land." Darkness reminded them, her eyes scanning the area around far faster then the average person would be able to. Satisfied with what she saw, the Crusader continued. "When that much territory is under your protection, there are many skills that need to be learned. Observation and organization when dealing with paperwork and the various budgets in that region. Proper communication and the subtle art of body language as you converse with other nobles. Lastly, and probably more important than the others, is deception."

"But what does all of that have to do with me learning a little more magic?" Kazuma asked, frustrated at the seemingly pointless list of skills despite becoming more intrigued the longer Darkness went on.

"Because why would someone so intent on throwing you behind bars just a few short days ago even bother with training you – direct or otherwise? Do you truly believe it has to do with nothing but her job?"

The questions made him hesitate, and the hesitation was all Darkness needed to power on.

" _She_ released you from custody, _she_ assigned herself to observe you, and _she_ was the one to prevent the guards from commandeering our gear."

"For what though?" Fio finally asked, her mind running a mile a minute to try and find the answer.

As that question lingered in the air for a few moments, Darkness sighed, her previous passion fading away as uncertainty took its place. "I do not know, that woman is a complete unknown to me other than what I've seen so far, and even that is not very much."

It took a little bit for anyone to respond after that, taking the time to digest everything just said.

Kazuma gave a snort that surprised the two girls. "Then we won't worry about it." He stated, much to Darkness' shock. "There's no point wasting energy on something we don't know about, even more so since it doesn't seem to be hurting us."

"But-!" the Crusader tried to protest, only to be cut off by Kazuma raising his palm in a halting gesture.

"I'm not saying don't keep an eye on her, just don't worry about it until you know for certain Sena's going to cause us trouble." Kazuma clarified, moving the hand raised towards Darkness to have it run through his hair. "Damn it, when did everything get so complicated?"

Despite it being a rhetorical question, Fio decided to answer. "Probably when you stopped an ancient machine from destroying the town."

He blew a breath of air at that. "Yeah… probably."

* * *

The bath house was surprisingly empty during the mid-day, probably due to everyone working at this time, this fact was perfectly fine for Sena as she eased herself into the warm water. While not as luxurious ass the ones back at the capital, the designs here made them feel a little cozier.

 _Perhaps it is from the different materials used._ Sena mused as her eyes roamed the interior. _Brickwork always did feel more like home then polished marble._

Regardless of what it was, it did allow the Prosecutor to relax far more easily. Something she desperately needed after having read another threatening letter from Aldarp – it did little to scare her, but it did succeed in angering the woman immensely, the power and status had clearly gone to the man's head. Sena made a mental note to prepare an investigation on the noble immediately after this bath. Her musings were cut short as a pair voices slowly made themselves known to the woman, growing in volume as they approached from the changing area.

"Come on, it wasn't that bad!"

"I was literally thrown against the wall over seven times in less than an hour! We are never going to do that again unless there's a proper instructor there."

Although obscured by the steam, Sena was easily able to recognize the two girls walking into the bath by their voices alone. So, with a slight amount of hesitation, she made herself known to them.

"Must you two be so loud?" She wasn't complaining, in fact, Sena was genuinely curious if Kazuma's group was capable of doing anything quietly. "People come her to relax and wash up, not to argue."

"Oh, I'm so sorry for interrupting your busy schedule, _ma'am._ "

Goodness, the amount of sarcasm and scorn in that one sentence was almost enough to make the Prosecutor wince.

"I'm only joking," Sena explained as Clemea and Megumin came into view, the later getting in the water immediately while the former sat on the edge with a glare.

 _Well this is off to a great start._

Deciding that humor wasn't the best approach, small talk was attempted next. "If you don't mind me asking, what were you two talking about on the way here?"

"Clemea had the brilliant idea of teaching me some self-defense, having the equally brilliant idea that the best way to teach that subject was to demonstrate each and every technique she knew on me." Megumin's matter-of-fact tone was far more cynical then any amount sarcasm could ever produce.

The mentioned Warrior had the decency to look ashamed. "It seemed like a good idea at the time…"

Sena arched an eyebrow. "Is her strength stat even high enough to learn any proper technique?"

It was quiet in the room for quite some time.

Megumin eventually began to twist her head, having to stretch it a little past the point of being uncomfortable in the process, to get Clemea within view. The Warrior had both hands covering her face, refusing to make eye contact with the Arch-Wizard.

"I didn't even think to check that." Clemea muttered.

Sena placed a hand over her mouth to stifle the giggle threatening to make her the center of attention once again.

"I'm not training anymore, got it?"

A reluctant nod was given instead of a verbal reply. A testament to how embarrassed Clemea was about the entire thing.

It was right at that moment Sena decided to get up and leave, not out of courtesy or anything, but more so because she had to go and check to see if Kazuma was indeed training like he was supposed to. After all, it was only natural for one to keep an eye on an investment.

* * *

Was he being watched?

Kazuma looked over his shoulder for the third time in the last half-hour, swearing that he could feel someone's gaze on his back. Glancing around the area and seeing nothing out of the ordinary, the Adventurer decided to continue his walk back home. He was grateful for the momentary solitude the trip provided, Darkness went back to the guild to see if Kyouya had picked up a quest and Sena was, thankfully, nowhere in sight.

 _Maybe I should try to find my own secret hideout. Just a place where I can go to get away from the crazy I'm surrounded with on a daily basis. Or maybe I just need someplace that my friends don't go every day._

The teen shrugged, figuring he could think about it later.

Something suddenly bit his neck and Kazuma reacted immediately by slapping the area with an open palm. Feeling something underneath his hand, Kazuma pulled it out to get a better look at whatever had attacked him. The Adventurer felt cold sweat run down his neck as he gazed at the tiny dart held between his fingers.

Even as his vision began to blur, Kazuma spun around in place while trying to prepare for the attack that would surely come. Unfortunately, nothing did, and the teen could do nothing to prevent himself from passing out.

KONOSUBA!

 _Oh… my head…_

Kazuma groaned as he sat up, inadvertently removing the blanket that had been covering him, and rubbed his head in pain, trying to rid the headache pounding his head. Both groggy and distracted by the pain, Kazuma took his sweet time remembering how exactly he ended up in this situation, his eyes widened once everything came back. Rushing to his feet, immediately regretting it as the sudden motion made him feel nauseous, Kazuma stumbled forward, passing through the curtain, having to immediately close his eyes as the morning sun was too bright for him to handle.

"Well… that's one way to wake up."

Blinking several times while adjusting to the light, the teen turned towards the voice, recognizing the head of silvery hair immediately. "Chris?" Kazuma questioned as his brain struggled to connect the dots. He was incredibly shocked once a theory came to mind.

"Did you kidnap me?!" the teen's voice screeched as he pointed a shaky finger at the Thief.

"Sure did!" Chris answered with a cheerful smile. "Told you it was going to be exciting."

It took a second for Kazuma to understand what she was talking about, realizing that the two of them were on their way to do that heist Chris had talked about. "No, you said I wouldn't regret it!" He checked around to see where he was, slightly surprised to find that they were on a one-horse wagon – similar to the ones traveling merchants had. Taking a seat next to his mentor, the teen frowned.

"Did I?" Chris asked, placing a finger on her chin while looking up towards the sky, her other hand keeping a firm grip on the reins.

"Yeah, you also never mentioned that you would kidnap me to get it started." Kazuma added, still annoyed, but calming down at the same time.

She shrugged. "Wasn't really planning on that, I just came up with the idea and decided to roll with it. Plus, it was pretty fun to watch." Chris snickered to herself.

"Wait a minute!" Kazuma sat up with a worried look, slightly concerning his mentor.

"What is it?"

"Do my friends know we're doing this now?"

"Oh that…" Chris waved off his worry. "I left them a note."

Miles away, back at the Beginners town, Clemea read and reread the piece of paper that had been left on the kitchen counter. Shrugging with indifference, she walked back to the main room where everyone was waiting.

"Good news, he's not missing, he was just kidnapped."

* * *

 **Once again, I would like to thank everyone for waiting patiently. Also, I feel like something was off with this chapter, nothing major mind you, just... something. If anyone has an idea please let me know.**

 **Anyway, like always, I hope you all have a wonderful day, and I'll see you all next time!**


	13. Chapter 13

**I am so sorry. School started back up and I can say without a doubt it is one of the reasons this took longer than normal to come out. So I won't take up too much more of your time with this author's note, but I do want to thank williamwz3 for pointing, what I believe, was missing last chapter, and it was Aqua. She didn't show up once, and it is very alarming that I have no idea where she was that entire day.**

 **Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter: 13

 _All things considering, this is probably the most relaxed I've been in a long time._

This thought rang through Kazuma's head as he held onto the reins of the small wagon belonging to his friend, and mentor, Chris. The girl in question was resting in the back, claiming she needed a short nap after traveling for so long, and now he was guiding the vehicle towards a destination he knew nothing about with someone who's idea of excitement involved kidnapping people. So yeah, it was just another regular day for the Adventurer.

Kazuma sighed as he realized just how crazy his life had become.

"Nothing I can do about it now…" the teen muttered to himself as he guided the horse to move a little to the side to give the much larger caravan heading his way the space they needed. The merchant leading the group nodded in thanks while the following vehicles tried to sell their wares as they passed. None of them really interested him, until one man called out to him.

Turning to look at the upcoming merchant, Kazuma saw him holding out a seemingly ordinary pair of gloves.

"These bad boys have been enchanted with the Minor Barrier spell! With just a thought, a shield – the size and strength dependent on how much mana is used – will form around the user and protect them from a certain amount of damage!"

"How much?" the teen called out as they he started to pass the Enchanter's wagon.

"Two-hundred thousand!"

Kazuma was surprised. "That much?!"

The man nodded, hopping off his vehicle to walk along side the potential customer. "It's to cover the materials used in making these particular gloves. Regular clothing isn't capable of holding any form of magical energy, which is why it is required to infuse whichever piece of clothing you wish to enchant with mananite dust. The process can be severely time consuming and a huge waste if done incorrectly. Hence, the steep price."

"Well… thanks for the magical lesson, but I don't have that much money on me right now."

The man frowned and turned away to rejoin the caravan. "Waste of my time…" the Enchanter whispered.

Kazuma narrowed his eyes, having heard the comment. And so, with his face looking in the opposite direction of the man, the teen pointed an open palm towards his target, and with a devilish smirk, uttered a spell so quietly that no one was able to hear it. It was only after the last vehicle of the caravan passed that the teen looked down towards his prize, far too pleased with the results.

"Two-hundred thousand seemed a little much." With more grandiose than needed, Kazuma took the dark-blue gloves he recently… acquired, and placed them on, enjoying how comfortable they felt on his hands. "But free? I'll take that deal every day of the week."

"You have no idea how proud of you I am right now."

He screamed in surprise and turned around to see Chris, her head in her hands as she looked at him with a large grin, a snicker escaping the woman's lips as she hopped out to sit next to him. "He was trying to scam you."

"Kinda figured as soon as he mentioned the price." Kazuma said, only partially confident in that statement, especially when he had to ask the follow-up question. "How exactly was it a scam?"

Chris took the reins while explaining. "Because he was exaggerating every detail, hoping your knowledge of the magical arts would be little enough to not call out his bullshit." Realizing too late the vulgar language she just used, the Master Thief could do nothing more than slam a palm over her mouth.

Kazuma laughed at her mortified look. "I think that's the first time I've heard you swear!"

"I've been hanging around you lot too much." Her words held far more meaning than Kazuma could ever understand, so it was unsurprising to the woman when he took it the wrong way.

"Excuse me, but you're the one who keeps coming by, uninvited I might add! Not to mention the fact that you _kidnapped me!_ "

"Oh relax," Chris waved off his ire, "I was talking more about Arakuremono than you guys."

"Ah…" He trailed off weakly, having nothing else to had now that that matter had been clarified. But there was one question that Kazuma felt like needed answering. "What exactly is this job? The only thing I know about it is that it's a thief's mission – which isn't really much to go on. We're stealing something though, right?"

She nodded, making a noise of confirmation as well. "It's something I've been planning to do a few years now." Chris' excitement began to make itself known as the Master Thief began to bounce in her seat. The sight brought a small smile to Kazuma's face. "It's going to be a multi-stage operation involving observation of the target, planning, and infiltration!" Chris added a little flair to the last word.

Kazuma raised an eyebrow. "Alright, but what exactly is the job?"

"Oh," Chris deflated a little after realizing she failed to actually answer the question. "We're going to rob a noble."

* * *

"Are you crazy?!"

Megumin looked up from her workbench, situated just outside in the backyard with a canopy placed over it to prevent the rain from soaking the materials on it, and saw Clemea storming over to her with a near-furious look.

"Eh?" the Arch-Wizard oh-so wisely asked, tilting her head to the side in the process.

"Don't you 'eh' me! You had Verdia summon undead warriors just to help you work in your garden!"

"I mean…" Megumin glanced towards her new garden, watching as Aqua and Wiz worked together to dig a hole deep enough for the aforementioned undead to plant a multi-fruit tree. "It didn't seem like a problem."

Clemea placed one hand on the girl's bench, using the other to furiously scratch her head while idly wondering if this is what Kazuma had to deal with on a daily basis. "The problem is that you had him do it in the _middle of town._ " The Warrior explained the situation as calmly as she could, finding it incredibly difficult especially after having a very long- not to mention annoying – conversation with the city guards.

Was it ironic that having a long history of mischief actually made the guards more lenient?

"I mean… it's not like people don't know about Verdia and what he can do." Megumin tried to explain, doing a terrible job as she slowly shifted her gaze away from the girl she considered an older sister.

"That may be true, but that doesn't mean you won't send people into a panic when undead show up, unannounced, within the town square!"

"Well what do you want me to do, apologize?" the Arch-Wizard asked, getting defensive.

Groaning at the girl's stubbornness, Clemea counted to ten before continuing. "Ideally yes, at least to the guards who had to calm people down. Megumin, I need you to understand that while we may be used to Verdia and his powers most of the regular citizens are not. There's a reason we keep him around the house, or out of sight at least."

"You two do realize I'm right here, do you not?"

The two looked to the side where the undead in question sat atop his new pedestal, adorned with a small plaque labeled 'Head Gardener' along with a minor extension to the side and an even smaller pillow made specifically for the Snow Sprite. The spirit was currently resting on said pillow while Verdia continued in a quiet voice.

"And while I do see your point that my powers should not be used so openly, you cannot deny the point that my presence is no longer a surprise to anyone living in this town."

"I suppose so," Clemea felt some of the tension leave her body as she agreed to that point. Honestly, she was so used to Kazuma dealing with these matters, the luxury of having someone else take the blame was gone now that she was the de-facto leader of the group. Weird considering she was part of someone else's party. "Could you please keep the dark magic contained to this house though?"

"As long as nothing were to-"

"Sure." Megumin replied with a shrug, making Verdia realize the question had, in-fact, been directed to someone other than him.

"Why are you asking her as if she's controlling the magic?!" the former General demanded, his voice rising a few octaves out of outrage.

"Would you have done it if she hadn't asked?" Clemea asked back.

"Of course not!" the undead shouted, realizing his mistake a moment too late.

Sending a sly smirk in Verdia's direction, the Warrior was practically shining with amusement as she finished answering the question. "Then I guess Megumin's the one I need to ask, nee?"

Megumin suddenly coughed – a cough that sounded far too much like a laugh to Verdia – as she turned her attention back too the unfinished diagram of what the new garden would look like. Her mind briefly entertained the idea of learning dark magic, because seriously how cool would it be to be known as the Mistress of Dark Explosions, but she shook away the idea with a quiet laugh, Honestly, why would she even need to learn something other than-?

 _-lifeless eyes gazed up at her even while the snow around them continued to be dyed red from his blood-_

The hand holding the pencil was shaking uncontrollably while her face began to lose all of its color. Her smile remained, but it was obvious to see it was strained at best.

"Megumin?" Clemea kneeled next to the girl, her concern making itself known as she cupped the girl's face to force those crimson eyes to look at her. "Are you alright?"

Several blinks were the only response received, and just when the Warrior was about to ask again, Megumin blinked one final time, snapping out of the trance she had just been in, appearing to be just fine now.

"Clemea, why are you so close to me?"

And while the Green-haired girl fumbled to come up with a proper answer, Verdia gazed at the Arch-Wizard with a narrowed eye. He had sensed something, despite it lasting no longer than a second, something that filled the undead with a mixed sense of dread and rage that he hadn't felt in so long.

 _It's probably my imagination,_ Verdia reasoned to himself. There was no way _he_ would come to a place like this. Even as he thought this, Verdia couldn't help but send a look full of remorse towards Megumin, knowing that if his worst fears came true, that little girl would be hit the hardest out of the bunch.

KO-NO-SU-BA!

"That's another one planted." Aqua took out a piece of cloth to wipe away the sweat gathering on her forehead. She turned to Wiz and offered her a thumbs-up. "Nice job!"

The Lich, wearing her own set of work clothes, sheepishly returned the gesture, feeling a sense of pride in their accomplishment. "Megumin certainly is going all out with this garden." One of the undead soldiers – because no one was going to follow through on Megumin's idea to label them undead gardeners – offered the woman a glass of water, which she took with a quiet thanks, distinctly aware that Aqua was doing the same thing.

"Ah…" the Water Goddess happily sighed, tossing the glass away, accidentally hitting one of the soldiers in the process. "That was refreshing."

"It was," agreed the well-endowed Lich, setting her own glass on the ground. "Aqua… I… I want to say thank you for inviting me to do this. It really means a lot."

Aqua shrugged, offering her a smile. "It wasn't that big of a deal, I mean, we are friends after all!"

"Right!" Wiz nodded, her smile growing larger. "It's just," and then her smile began to wane, "you treated me so differently not too long ago, it made me think you didn't want to be near me."

"Ahaha… right…" The Arch-Priest awkwardly scratched her head as she thought of a response. "Back then it was different because you… uh… kinda smelled?"

Anyone – _literally anyone_ – else would have been able to tell that was a horrible, terrible lie, so much so that it should be a crime, but innocent, sweet, _busty_ Wiz was not just anyone. And so, with a horrified look on her face, the woman asked her friend for confirmation. "Really?!" Her question was nearly a shout.

The nearby undead soldiers shared a disbelieving look – which was impressive when you realized that they lacked anything resembling a face.

"…Yes."

When Fio arrived to help the small group with the garden, she was greeted with the very interesting sight of Wiz apologizing repeatedly to Aqua while said Arch-Priest looked surprisingly ashamed of herself.

* * *

"How many… of these trees… did Megumin order?" The question had been asked with the occasional huff interrupting it.

"I believe four, maybe five, but no more than six."

Kyouya gave a mental groan as he readjusted the Multi-fruit tree, so it didn't hurt his shoulder so much. This was only the second one he had Darkness were moving, and at this rate, the Sword Master would need to equip Gram and the matching armor to get the stat boosts needed to continue. Unlike him though, the Crusader seemed to manage just fine despite carrying the heavier part – something Darkness was suspiciously adamant about doing. He was slightly envious of her strength.

However, once that thought finished its course, another one took its place that made Kyouya perk up. "Hey Darkness…"

There was a questioning hum in response.

"Do you want to work out together some time?"

Another hum came, this one containing a hint of worry, and Darkness shrugged, jostling the tree in the process. "I suppose so, but you should know my routine is extremely tiring for those not used to it."

"Come on," Kyouya puffed out his chest a little, "you know me, I'm used to difficult workouts. And it would be nice not having to be yelled at by Verdia all the time."

Darkness laughed a bit at that. "I suppose it would. But it's because I know you that I felt the need to caution you."

The Sword Master allowed his body to slump in disappointment. "Yeah, you're probably right."

* * *

"I don't know how we're going to do this." Kazuma muttered while scouting out the rather large mansion he would be robbing with Chris. The two of them were currently several blocks away on the roof of some random building, one that gave them a clear line of sight on the Nobleman's residence. "For crying out loud, I can't see a single spot we could enter that isn't covered!"

Collapsing the telescope he was using with more force than was required, the Adventurer turned towards his mentor with an annoyed look. "You didn't say there would be this many people watching over one place. What's even in there that's so damn valuable?"

"Just about everything that isn't nailed to the wall and then some." Chris replied, far more casually than Kazuma would have liked, she placed her own telescope down while pulling out a small notepad. "We're also not trying to find any weak points to get in, we're looking for ways to get out quickly if things go bad." She turned to him with calculating eyes. "Did you find anything like that?"

He sighed and brought the telescope back out to give the area a second look. "That giant window to the far left, the one on the top floor."

"I saw it."

"We could jump out and start running along the rooftops, I doubt the guards would be able to catch up to us if we did that."

Chris nodded, writing it down as her friend continued.

"There was also a small hatch leading to the rooftop, wouldn't be hard to get out from there."

On and on, Kazuma listed off possible escape routes for them to take with the occasional input from the Master Thief herself. By midday they were back at the room they had rented out, a map of the city lying next to the blueprints for the mansion. Kazuma sat on one side with his arms and legs crossed, looking over the notes they had been taking all day. He scratched the side of his head, enjoying how the gloves felt on his skin.

"Okay, I give, how exactly are we supposed to get in?"

Not even looking up from the papers she was looking at, Chris replied in a no-nonsense tone. "How many times to I have to tell you, it's not about getting in, it's-"

"-about us getting out." Kazuma finished, having heard that over five times over the course of two days. "But it doesn't matter how many ways we have to get out if we don't have any way to get in in the first place."

"And it matters even less how many ways we can get in if there isn't a plan for us to get out at a moments notice." As she finished her calm explanation, Chris looked up to give the Adventurer an understanding smile. "Believe me, I get it, I've been in your position before." The woman placed down the current stack of papers and grabbed onto another to look them over. "Or is it that you don't have any faith in your teacher?"

Her teasing remark made him roll his eyes. "You know that's not what this is about, I wouldn't trust anyone but you for a job like this."

Chris peaked at him over the top of her papers, her eyes containing a glint of mischief in them. "You're just saying that because you don't trust your friends with anything important, right?"

Kazuma outright scoffed at that. "Of course not, I wouldn't trust them with much of anything, it's way too easy for them to screw up even the most basic task."

"Is that right?" Chris asked, a secret smile hidden behind the papers.

"Gah! It's so frustrating!" The Adventurer nearly screamed, making sure to keep it down so no one would investigate what was going on. "Most of the time it's stuff you wouldn't think someone could screw up, but no, somehow everyone in that house of ours is capable of turning a relaxing afternoon into absolute chaos."

"There was one day where Clemea had set the entire kitchen on fire while she was working on her potions, forcing us to not only to put it out before it spread to the rest of the house, but to also spend the rest of the day either cleaning up the mess or going out to buy replacements for everything that was lost. Then there was the day Fio accidentally hit Kyouya in the leg with an arrow because it apparently had bounced off Verdia's head, why that damn undead bastard was out in the middle of the field I'll never know and flew straight at him in the complete opposite direction – I don't think I've ever heard anyone scream as loud as he did that day."

"Really now?" Chris' smile began to grow wider as she watched Kazuma's lips twitch a little.

"Then there's Darkness, I think you know her well enough for me not to say anything."

"I do."

"Great, because I have an entire list of complaints reserved specifically for Aqua."

"None of which I want to hear."

"Oh…" Kazuma looked as if he wanted to say something to that but hesitated as something else came to mind. "Honestly, and I mean completely honest, Megumin probably annoys me the most."

 _Hold on, what?_ Chris placed her notes down, swept the papers away to clear the area, and gave her student the full attention this needed. "Why's that?"

"Why do you think?" He asked, only to answer the question himself. "Because of that damn obsession of hers! Nearly everyday she has me frolic out with her to some area so she can use that worthless spell, forcing me to carry her all the way back to town, and adamantly refuses to listen when I suggest to her to learn something much more useful in battle."

"Huh," the Master Thief filed that piece of information away, "wouldn't have guessed that with how you act around her."

"Well what can I say, I'm a great actor." Suspicion creeped into his gaze as the full meaning of those words dawned on the teen. "And uh… what exactly does it look like when I'm around her."

"Oh, nothing major," Chris gave a casual shrug, purposefully looking up at the ceiling as she finished the sentence, "just that you have a major crush on the girl." With that said, she waited to hear his reaction, hoping it would be something between a sputtering yell and a strangled gasp. Nothing happened though, and Chris looked back after a few more moments of silence to question why he hadn't said anything, only to receive that answer when she saw his face.

"Ah…" Kazuma's expression was downcast, acting as if his biggest secret had been revealed, and Chris shamefully realized that might have been more on the nose than previously thought. "Guess I'm not that good of an actor after all."

"Geez, it's not like it's a big deal if people know about it, but… I'm sorry if you didn't want people to know."

He waved off her apology. "No, it's fine. Really, I – what do you mean people?" The sudden shift in his demeanor was enough to throw Chris off balance.

With wide eyes, the Master Thief realized her mistake. "…whoops?"

"Other people know?" Kazuma nearly shrieked, a blend of panic and dread – a combination only he seemed capable of perfecting – leaking into his voice. "How many?!"

"Oh, not many really: just everyone at the mansion, a handful of people at the guild, and a few others here and there." Chris' voice continued to slowly rise in pitch as more and more people were listed while the steadily growing look of intensity, zeroed in on her, actually forced the Master Thief to look away. "Not many people… if you don't think about it that is."

"Holy shit…"

"Yeah… and if you think that's bad, you're really not going to like that there's a bet going on."

"A bet?!"

Chris held up her arms in a calming gesture. "Now, don't be mad…"

But Kazuma was beyond furious at this point. "How could I not be mad?! My love life is a subject for half the town to gamble on!"

"I mean, I don't think half the town is in on it – although the mayor did make a wager as well."

"Well that's great, just great, even the mayor is in on this." Kazuma stood up and went over to his bed, falling face first on the object so the following groans would be muffled.

"Hey, hey, come on, there's no need for that." Her attempt to comfort the teen bore no fruit, however, and the girl sighed as she walked over and sat on the bed to place a gentle hand on his back. "Ok, so I know you didn't want to hear that basically everyone you know is betting on when you'll ask out Megumin, or that Clemea accidentally spilled the beans to the girl so _she_ probably knows as well…" Chris trailed off, knowing she said more than she should have.

The teen moved his head so he was looking at her. "Let me get this straight. Several people, including friends and strangers, know I'm into Megumin and vice versa, there's a bet going on involving when one of us will ask the other out, and the two people this bet involves are now aware of what is going on." Kazuma raised an eyebrow. "Am I missing anything?"

Chris thought about and shook her head. "That should cover everything."

"Wonderful." Kazuma turned his head so it was buried in his pillow once more. "This whole situation is so messed up."

"You know what might cheer you up?" Her demeanor brightened considerably as she stated her idea. "If you help me win this bet by asking Megumin out within the next week or two!"

"Are you serious?!" The teen demanded, pushing himself up to glare at his mentor.

"Please do it!" Chris begged as she fell to her knees, her face pleading with him to do the right thing. "I'm going to be out of this bet if you don't!"

The two would argue for the next twenty minutes on why asking a girl out to win a bet was a terrible idea.

KONOSUBA!

"Should… should we do something?"

The hesitant question made everyone share nervous looks. Aqua, Darkness, Fio, Kyouya, Megumin, and Verdia all sat awkwardly in the main room of their mansion, trying their best to ignore the shouting match that was happening in the kitchen right now between Clemea and Sena. The Prosecutor came by today to check in on the group, having just sent her report the day before, and the green-haired warrior took it upon herself to explain the current situation.

Everyone couldn't help but admire her for it.

Verdia was the first to respond by shaking his head. "Nothing good would come from sending another person in there. The only thing an extra person could contribute in a shouting match is more noise and chaos."

"He's right." Darkness agreed, her posture a little more regal than normal. "Our friend is more than capable of handling this situation herself, Clemea wouldn't have volunteered if she didn't think so herself."

Kyouya sighed and then winced as they all heard something break in the other room. "Even though that's true, it's still surprising just how… vocal, Sena is with her displeasure."

"I thought she liked us." Megumin muttered as she sipped her tea.

"Pretending to be nice and being a friend are two sides of the same coin." Lalatina gave the group a sad smile as she watched their various reactions to her words. "While I cannot say which side she is on, Sena, regardless of how she feels, has a job to do, and this situation puts her in a very bad spot should her superiors find out."

The Noblewoman refused to add that they could use this information as a form of blackmail should the need ever arise. They wouldn't agree to using methods like that anyway. Then again, she didn't really need them to agree to go ahead with her idea.

Aqua suddenly began to slurp her tea, desperately trying to get the last drop out of her cup, causing everyone in the main room to turn to her with a deadpan look.

 _Come on!_ The Goddess thought furiously, working even harder to enjoy the magical flavor of Clemea's tea. Finally, when the last of it reached her tongue, Aqua allowed herself to sigh in pure bliss. She blinked at the sight of everyone staring at her. "What?"

Whatever was about to be said was interrupted as Sena came marching into the main hallway, a look of pure fury on her face as she turned back to yell into the kitchen. "This matter is far from over! I hope you have a better answer the next time I visit!" With that, the Prosecutor stormed out of the building, slamming the door shut in the process.

Clemea came running out of the kitchen, the fire in her eyes threatened to burn anyone who looked at her wrong. "You can be damn sure my answer will be much clearer next time!" she roared, taking several deep breaths as the fire dimmed down to something more manageable.

"I see things went well." Verdia said with a sarcastic undertone, unfazed when the woman shot him a dirty look. "No need for that, you're scaring the little one."

She narrowed her eyes in confusion until she felt something cold rub against her cheek. Looking over, Clemea saw the Snow Sprite looking up at her with wide, innocent eyes as it chirped a questioning tune. Her own eyes softened at the sight, "Don't worry, I'm fine," and she offered the creature a small smile, to which it gave her an eye-smile in return.

"I swear that thing likes everyone else more than me." Aqua muttered dejectedly.

"So… what did Sena have to say?" Kyouya asked the question that was on their minds, being the only one brave enough to do so.

"Nothing good once I told her what was going on." The Warrior just about growled as her previous anger began to reignite, but the comforting presence of the adorable Snow Sprite helped cool her down. "Long story short, we've got about a week before she needs to send out another report to her superiors. I don't think I need to explain what would happen if it was reported that he disappeared."

No, no she did not. The entire group looked down in thought with various ideas going through their head. Fio was the first to come up with something.

"Darkness is there any way for you to get in touch with Chris and tell her what's going on?"

The woman shook her head. "No. Chris has always been one to disappear at a moments notice, and despite my best efforts, I've never been able to track her when she does. No one has now that I think about it."

"How about Sena then?" Kyouya asked, clarifying when he saw their confused looks. "Is there any chance we could convince her to send out false reports until Kazuma comes back?"

"Not a chance in hell." Clemea scoffed, crossing her arms and looking away. "All that shouting you heard was me trying to convince her to do that."

"Not to mention how much trouble she'd get in should they ever find out a report had been altered." Verdia added. "Of course, we could simply swap out her report with another of our own making…"

The Crusader of the group placed a hand on her chin, thinking the idea over a little bit. It definitely had some merit, but she ultimately had to shake her head. "I doubt that would work as well as we would like, most of her work is hand written, and even if we were able to successfully forge her hang writing, it wouldn't take long for Sena to figure out something was amiss if there wasn't an immediate response."

"Well, I could always…" Megumin's eyes drifted off towards her staff, and the entire group responded with a rather loud 'No' in response.

"So, the only thing we can do, without getting our hands dirty in some way, is to simply wait for Chris to bring Kazuma back within a week?" Fio questioned, watching as the others frowned while nodding to her words.

"That would seem to be the case." Verdia agreed, knowing he'd be sentenced to be purified should the worst-case scenario come true. "It is not ideal by any means, but none of us have any ideas that would work otherwise."

Kyouya groaned, leaning back while placing both hands over his face. "Wait a minute!" the look of realization on the Sword Master's face caught everyone's attention. "Darkness, Chris would have known something like this would happen, right?"

Darkness blinked at the sudden question, but it didn't take long for her to get where he was going with the question. "She would," the woman smiled, "and that means she would have planned this all out so there would be more than enough time to get Kazuma back home!"

"So… Kazuma will be back in time?" Megumin relaxed at their words. Feeling a set of eyes on her, she turned to see Clemea sending her a teasing smirk, making the Arch-Wizard blush in response.

"As comforting as that knowledge may be, we should still prepare to leave at a moments notice should the worst occur." Verdia said to the group, getting a couple nods in response. "We should inform a few people at the guild about our situation as well, I imagine Arakuremono would be able to help us out."

"I can do that tomorrow." Kyouya volunteered. "If I go in early enough, I should be able to talk with him privately."

"Can I tell Wiz?" Aqua's questioned surprised the group, and she puffed out her cheeks in anger at their looks. "If we're all leaving, someone is going to need to look after the garden! I didn't just spend the entire day working on it just to let it get over run by weeds while we're away!"

"That… shouldn't be a problem." Verdia muttered, seeing the odd logic. He was still worried though, the Lich wasn't exactly the greatest liar. "Just don't give her too much information."

The Arch-Priest gave him a salute. "Roger that!"

While everyone continued to make plans and contingency plans, Megumin quietly prayed for the safe return of her… her… she sighed, figuring there was no point in denying her crush for Kazuma at this point, everyone seemed to know anyway. _Just please be safe, wherever you are._

* * *

Meanwhile, miles away from his group, Kazuma sat on a chair with his arms tied behind his back, Chris was a short distance away in a similar position, an apologetic grin on her face.

"So… what do you think of your first heist so far?"

"I'm honestly trying to figure out if I hate you right now." Kazuma said as the mocking laughter from the Nobleman they tried to rob echoed in their room, the man having just left a moment ago.

"Come on…" Chris moved as if to wave off his words, but the ropes around her wrists prevented her from doing so. "This isn't so bad. There was this one time I-"

"I don't want to hear it." The teen cut her off as began looking around the area for something sharp. "That bastard took our gear, money, my new gloves, _and_ left us down here to die." He saw a broken piece of glass a short distance away and began hopping over there. "Forget what I said about you keeping most of the loot. We're splitting it evenly as soon as we get out."

The Master Thief whined at that even as she reached for the hidden dagger on her person. "Come on! I'm the one who spent more time and money getting this prepared."

"Not enough apparently, considering we got caught in five minutes!" Kazuma shouted, grabbing the glass once he was close enough before beginning the grueling process of cutting his bindings.

"Would you believe me if I said this was part of the plan?"

He opened his mouth to reply, but a sudden screeching sound make the duo look towards a nearby grate, watching as it slowly opened revealing a set of red eyes glaring at them. Out of the shadows came a group of snarling giant rats, slowly making their way too them.

"Was this part of the plan?" Kazuma demanded as his cutting motion became a little more hurried.

"It was part of _a_ plan!" Chris shouted back, her own blade beginning to move faster as the danger loomed closer to them.

"And which part of _that_ _plan_ are we on now?!" The glass finally sliced through one of the bindings, allowing Kazuma to cut even faster as he glared over at his friend, who was returning the look with her own.

"The part where you shut up and finish cutting that rope so giant rats don't _eat us!_ "

"Well exuuuuuuse me if I seem a little pissed off since I was unaware that we even had a plan like that!"

"Well now you know!" Chris shouted as she finished cutting through her rope at the same time as Kazuma. "Take care of the ones on the left, I'll take on the rest."

"When we get out of this, we're going to have a very long conversation about your planning skills!" Kazuma gripped the glass in one hand while preparing a spell in the other, and the two gave a battle cry as they lunged at the incoming beasts.

* * *

 **And that's a wrap. Once again, I'd like to thank everyone who followed, favorite, and reviewed this story, and a big shout out to everyone who's been waiting patiently for me to upload, it never fails to bring a smile to my face.**

 **Until next time, which hopefully won't be as long, I hope you all have a wonderful day!**


	14. Chapter 14

**I feel so bad for taking as long as I did, this might be the longest I've gone without updating this story. But, considering I can't guarantee this won't happen again, thought I hope it doesn't, I will promise all of you that no matter what happens, this story will be completed one day.**

 **Other than that, enjoy this latest addition!**

* * *

Chapter: 14

Chomusuke was hungry.

Megumin sighed as she poured the odd feline a bowl of milk, watching as the creature began slurping it up with her head resting on crossed arms. For the past few days the Arch-Wizard had been rather unenthusiastic as the threat of the entire Capital coming after them grew closer to becoming a reality. It terrified her to no end, but not nearly as much as the reason why.

Kazuma was still missing, and no one in the group had any idea where he was, what he was doing, or even what his status was. All any of them knew was that Chris had kidnapped the Adventurer to do some kind of job. Darkness only knew that the Thief would eventually bring the teen back to them, probably before time was up for the group.

…They hoped so at least.

Various plans for escape were made, and still being made, by each individual.

Kyouya and Verdia would flee together into the mountains with the Undead stating it would be easy for them to join one of the tribes scattered around the peaks.

Darkness would return to her manner after staying behind to be interrogated by the various officials, being the only member of the group who would not know where anyone was going so no information could be given away.

Clemea and Fio claimed they would move out into the woods, disguising themselves and becoming hunters to make a living for a time until they could return to their village.

Aqua and Megumin were the only ones without a concrete idea of what they would do – the Arch-Priest mentioned joining the Axis group to serve as their priest, surprising no one.

The would-be hunters offered to let the girl join them, but Megumin was hesitant to accept since she didn't know how well she would do living out in the woods.

She sighed as the feline finished the bowl and began rubbing against the side of her head, purring the entire time. Picking the cat up, Megumin walked out of the kitchen and into the main area where most of their odd group hung. What normally would be an atmosphere of fun and nonsense was now a place filled with tension so thick even Gram would struggle to cut through it.

Darkness and Kyouya were playing chess, their eyes focused like lasers on the board. Clemea was arguing with Aqua about the pros and cons about joining the Axis cult. Fio was sharpening a dagger while keeping watch for any signs of Capital Guards approaching the mansion. Verdia wasn't with them, he was outside instructing his undead on proper garden maintenance with the snow sprite floating around him.

"Two more days until Sera needs to do another check-in." the Sword Master muttered as he watched the Crusader take another one of his pieces. "We'll each have to leave during the night if we want to have a chance of getting away in time."

"Yeah…" Darkness' eyes had lost a lot of their fire in the past few days, she would keep her friends safe no matter what, but the idea that they were about to be separated for who knows how long all because of Chris was… it was a terrible feeling. Especially since she wouldn't know where any of them were.

"This is so stupid!" Clemea suddenly yelled, breaking away from Aqua to grab a nearby vase and toss it at the wall, shattering the object and startling everyone in the process. "After everything we've done to keep this town safe, they'll just throw us under the carriage and leave us for dead all because that stupid, noble prick can't handle the thought of losing a damn house! What choice did Kazuma have?! The only two options available were to either: let the bomb detonate and destroy the entire town with all of its occupants, or to use a spell that would send the core someplace at random!"

"Clemea…" Fio moved to place a hand on her friend's shoulder, Aqua not too far behind, but the girl surprised them both when she whirled on the spot to glare at them, allowing them to see the bags forming under her eyes.

"NO! Don't you dare try to comfort me as if this wasn't a big deal! Our very _livelihood_ is about to be turned on its head, and there's… there's nothing we can… we can…"

During her passionate outburst, Clemea had slowly lowered herself to her knees, the weight of the situation hitting her like a ton of bricks. Tears gathered in the corners of her eyes, and unashamed that everyone she cared about, save Kazuma – a fact that almost startled her to death – would see her in such a state, the woman began to cry. Each sob carried the pain of a broken heart that was forced to let everything it held dear go.

Aqua was quick to join her friend's side, pulling the Warrior in for a much-needed hug while her own tears joined the steady stream.

Fio, surprisingly, did not join them, instead opting to sit down against the wall and pull her knees to her chest, completely silent in the face of such heartache.

"I'm… going to see how Verdia's doing." Kyouya awkwardly mumbled, excusing himself from the group.

Darkness didn't say anything to that, she merely left without a word.

The only one left standing was Megumin, Chomusuke whining at all the drama happening around them, to which the Arch-Wizard was tempted to agree with. She didn't really have the energy to do so, she was just so very _tired._

 _Please come home soon._ Megumin silently prayed that her request would come true, even as she turned away to go to bed, the crying of her friends echoing behind her.

* * *

"Freeze!"

The desperate cry of a familiar spell was overwhelmed by the thundering charge of over a dozen guards chasing after them, only to be quickly replaced by startled yelps as the men slipped on the now ice-covered floor, sliding past both Chris and Kazuma in a tangled mess of limbs and armor.

"This way!" the Master Thief shouted, grabbing onto the Adventurer's wrist before dragging him down another hallway just as another group of guards rounded the corner. Even as they ran, Chris was still swiping objects off of pedestals, appraising them for only a moment before tucking them away, much to her friend's ire.

"Are you seriously looting _while_ we're running for our lives?!" Kazuma demanded, slowing down just long enough to knock a bookcase over to buy them more time.

The woman shrugged. "Why not? It's more money for us in the end."

"That is beside the point!" He yelled, only for that yell to turn into a startled shout as Chris forced him to duck to avoid the blade that was aiming to take off their heads.

Kazuma shuddered at the thought of that happening again.

With a slight flourish, Chris removed her dagger from its holster, sliced the back of the man's knee, forcing him to fall onto the other one, before finishing the assault with a swift kick to the side of his head. The force knocked him into a wall, and the guard was unconscious before hitting the ground.

"Saved your life," she teased, pulling her friend back to his feet as the two continued to run through the Nobleman's mansion.

"Yeah, yeah, thanks for the help." Kazuma grumbled even as he watched her shoulder her way into a seemingly random room, pulling him in immediately afterwards. He didn't even have time to observe the fact that they were in some kind of study area before Chris started shouting instructions at him again.

"Barricade that door, I'm going to need some time."

"Time for what?" the Adventurer asked even as he struggled to mov a particularly heavy bookcase in the doors path.

"Time… to find…" Chris gave a grunt as she knocked one particular shelf down, cheering when it revealed a large safe behind it, "…where he keeps his stash!"

Kazuma looked over at the safe and nearly whistled in appreciation. Reinforced hinges and door, four separate dials with each one probably needed three separate inputs to unlock, and gold engravings for style. If nothing else, the Adventurer could appreciate how serious he took securing his valuables. Granted, it would probably be smarter to have multiple safes scattered across the house, but who was he to judge.

 _I guess I better get ready to defend the entry points to this room, Chris is going to need all the time she can get to carefully unlock that-_

"Fire in the hole!" the Master Thief suddenly yelled, tacking her young apprentice behind a desk just in time for a loud, and strong, explosion to go off.

Kazuma didn't have time to process what exactly had happened before Chris shoved him in another direction _again_ just as the door to the safe came crashing through the desk they had been hiding behind, tumbling across the floor before imbedding itself into the wall.

"Are you _insane?!_ " the teen screamed, desperately trying to ignore the ringing in his ears. "You almost got us killed… again!"

"Well, in case you didn't notice, we're a little short on time, now aren't we?" Her rhetorical question was punctuated perfectly when they heard a group of guards beginning to breach the room, the small barricade Kazuma set up being slowly pushed aside. "So, unless you plan on pulling some time-stopping spell out of your pocket, I suggest you toss this out the door when there's a big enough gap."

A light-blue orb was handed over to the surprised Adventurer, it felt cool to the touch, and the only detail about it that seemed important was the small button on the top.

"What am I supposed to-?"

"Press the button, count to three, and toss it."

"Ah," Kazuma looked at the object, back to the door, down to the orb again, and pressed the button. Mentally counting down from three, he quickly threw the orb through the small gap, watching as it began glow brighter just as it exited his field of view.

"Hey, what's that thing do – AHHH!"

Startled screams were quickly cut off as ice emerged from the opening, and the teen's eyes were wide as he turned back to Chris, pointing a shaky finger at what just happened. "What did I just…?"

"Ice bomb," she replied, writing something on a scroll while occasionally looking up inside the safe. "Don't worry, it didn't kill anyone, just locked them, and probably everything in that hallway, in a block of magical ice. Should also buy me a little more time to finish up these adjustments."

"Wha-?"

"And before you ask," Chris immediately cut off, sending a light glare in his direction, "it's a Teleportation Scroll. Since we could only carry so much, I figured it would be best to have a way to move the score quickly without risking getting caught with it during our escape. Just need to finish changing the area being affected and… done!"

With a large grin, the Master Thief rolled up the parchment and threw it into the safe. Kazuma was soon forced to cover his eyes as a blinding flash emitted from the scroll, and when he was able to see again, he was surprised to find the entire contents of the object gone.

With suspicion in his gaze, Kazuma turned to his mentor to ask a question. "Where exactly did all the loot go?"

"Someplace easy for us to get too and difficult for them to figure out." Chris replied cryptically.

 _Meanwhile…_

"I know I hid some supplies down here somewhere…" Verdia mumbled, floating around the basement with the equivalent of a frown on his nonexistent face. "Or was it in the attic?"

The Undead paused his ramblings as he felt something 'ding' against his helmet. Looking back down, Verdia made a questioning noise at the sight of a single, gold coin resting on the ground, shimmering despite there being no sunlight, or any light for that matter since he could see in the dark. Turning his helmet so it faced the ceiling, the former General's lone red eye widened at the sight of the enormous, magical glyph that formed above his head.

"Oh no…

Verdia's screams never left the basement as he was buried under a literal ton of gold, jewels, and other valuables.

 _Back with our… 'Heroes'…_

"…Are we not going to talk about what just happened back there?"

The silence lasted almost a full minute before a response was made, the sound of rushing air being the only noise during that time.

"Nope."

"Chris… you set off three fire bombs in there…" Kazuma stated looking back to see an incredibly large plume of smoke rising into the air as the two of them ran across the roof tops, following one of the escape plans the Adventurer had made the previous day. "I think there was someone buried under some rubble while we were escaping."

"Look," the Master Thief sounded just as unnerved about what happened in the last fifteen minutes as he did, "it's fine. We got the loot, all of our stuff back-"

"-Still can't believe he left it all on his desk-"

"-and we managed to escape with only a few minor complications."

It was at that moment that they heard the sounds of a large structure collapsing under its own weight, the resulting crash echoing several times for them, as if to point out just how wrong Chris was.

"…Just shut up and run." She muttered. Even in the dark it was easy to see the heat creeping up to her cheeks.

Kazuma rolled his eyes, allowing his gaze to wander down to the streets below as another group of guards, along with a few mages, ran towards the mansion they had robbed and most likely destroyed.

 _Well, I guess she did say this would be exciting._

Running across a few more roof tops, the duo then climbed down into an alleyway and quickly began changing as their current garb was covered in soot and sewer filth. Now dressed similar to the upper class that were still roaming the streets, Chris in a beautiful dress with a fan to both cover her face and cool herself while Kazuma simply wore a nice suit, they walked together, arm-in-arm, to maintain a form of cover.

The full moon was shining bright above their heads, and under normal circumstances, Kazuma would have looked up to admire its beauty, but that would have to wait until they were in the clear, and considering how things were going so far…

Chris suddenly started talking to him, and Kazuma realized why and joined in immediately while they secretly kept an eye on a patrol wagon that was making its rounds. A simultaneous sigh escaped their lips when the guards went around the corner.

Yep, it was going to be a while before they were in the clear.

KO-NO-SU-BA!

 _Well… this could have gone better…_

Verdia, beaten and bloody with a broken sword lying at his feet, could only wince as two burly men forced him onto his knees as their leader approached. Kyūdō and Miko weren't too far as they too had been captured in similar states of injury, with the Arch-Priest receiving far fewer out of the bunch of which Verdia was grateful for.

The young Sword Master, along with the rest of his small party, had attempted to infiltrate a stronghold belonging to the infamous Jaken Bandits, a group renown for their barbaric methods of ransacking villages and wandering carriages. However, the plan had gone south far too fast for them to recover from, and being stuck in the middle of a literal fortress with a small army between them and the nearest exit…

…well, they had tried their best in the end.

"I must say I am impressed with what you three were able to accomplish all by yourselves!"

The young man looked up, his vision a little blurry from the beating he had taken, and saw the Jaken leader, a large brute with scars running across his arms and a black eyepatch covering his left eye, approaching him with a familiar, teal great sword slung over his broad shoulder.

"Poisoning most of our food supply, rigging multiple explosive crystals on structural weak points, and dumping itching powered into several of my mens laundry!"

A few of the bandits started scratching themselves at that last bit.

"In any other circumstances, I would have been absolutely furious that such a thing occurred but considering the group that had done so…" he paused to look at the three of them with a large grin, earning a glare from them all. The man laughed, the merriment being shared by the rest of the bandits as well. "I suppose I should feel honored instead." He looked over Verdia's blade after quieting down his laugh, giving an appreciative hum at the blade's quality.

"I can only imagine what it must have taken to acquire a blade such as this, but… it doesn't really matter anymore."

The Sword Master felt cold steel press against the back of his neck as the two men holding him down forced him to bow his head. Kyūdō and Miko started screaming at the leader to stop, only to be quickly gagged with a simple cloth. The Archer's face was turning red with murderous rage while the Arch-Priest, who's glasses lay broken at her feet, desperately tried to hold back her tears.

"Guy's…" Verdia started, his voice was weak but still held enough strength to be heard by his friends. "I'm sor-"

Sharpened metal met flesh, and Verdia's world went black.

* * *

He was greeted with an endless void upon awakening, a dark so encompassing that the only visible thing was his own body.

"Hello?" Verdia called out as he walked forward into nothingness, or at least, he thought he was moving forward. It was impossible to tell without any point of reference. Over and over the Sword Master called out, hoping to get some form of response because wasn't the Goddess Eris suppose to appear to guide him into the afterlife?

Surely, he had done enough good in his life to at least earn an audience with the divine being? Sure, the young man had done his fair share of misdeeds, especially in his days before joining Kyūdō, but that couldn't have meant his life would be stuck in this purgatory?

"Verdia…" a dark, booming voice echoed within the void, its volume so great the young man was forced to cover his ears so they wouldn't burst.

"Wha…?" Verdia looked up towards the source and felt all the color in his face drain away at the sight before him.

A being, easily the size of a large building, sat before him on a throne made of skulls, heavy plate armor adorning every part of its body that was dyed a royal purple. On its head was a faceless helmet, allowing him to see the front of a glowing skull that seemed to be staring right into his soul. The massive undead reclined on its chair with a strange blend of a casual and regal demeanor as it leaned its head against its closed fist.

"W-w-who are you?" He hated how nervous his voice sounded, but there were more pressing matters to attend to.

"I go by many names in your world, most of which have been lost to time." The being answered, its jaw opening and closing as it spoke, but not in synch with its words. "However, to keep things simple, you may refer to me as the False God."

"'False God?'" Verdia questioned, his shock momentarily replacing his fear. "Y-you're not supposed to exist anymore! You were destroyed over a millennium ago!"

"Banished would be a more accurate word to describe my defeat." The False God replied simple, easily, unfazed by the words of the mortal before him. "I was defeated, but it seems they have exaggerated the extent of it." The being almost scoffed. "Typical, heroes' tales are often exaggerated to elevate them to legendary proportions."

Ok, yeah, that did make some sense, hell, even stories revolving his party had been embellished over the course of a few years. But still… "Why are you here, talking with me?"

"I suppose it would be best to get straight to the point." The massive undead muttered, before allowing the dark power it contained to bubble to the surface, giving Verdia a _taste_ of its dark magic. "In short, you are here because I wish to offer you a deal, one that would allow you to return to the mortal realm and save your friends. However, in exchange, you will be-"

"I accept." The Sword Master suddenly declared, so suddenly that the False God appeared to be surprised.

"Wait… really? You don't want to here the consequences? I had a story detailing how you were chosen, a warning so frightening it literally killed the last three people this offer was made too, damn it, I literally spent a full century planning this out!" The undead had lost all pretense of regality as it leaned forward, almost appearing desperate to Verdia. "Are you sure you don't want to hear the rest of what I have to say?"

"You'll telling me that theirs a way to go back and save Miko and Kyūdō, I'm taking it, consequences be damned!" He called out, his determination shining through like a beacon in this endless abyss.

"Hmph," the False God leaned back on its throne, a hint of annoyance in its voice as it held out a skeletal hand towards Verdia. "Very well, then go forth and accept the mantle of my Champion. Rise up and instill terror to those who have forgotten my power! Stand tall and accept your new name!"

Purple energy surged forward, engulfing the young man while filling him with power he had never experienced before.

* * *

Back in the living world, despite what had felt like an hour in his time, not even a second had passed since his head had been separated from his body.

Unholy life filtered into Verdia's eyes, a red glow slowly encroaching his irises while the flow of blood appeared to halt to those who were paying attention – luckily, no one was. Once the process of reanimation was complete to the point where his senses had returned, the now undead man began to look around, doing his best not to draw attention until the power had finished settling.

"-the only one I plan on killing today, the others can be ransomed for a hefty sum." He heard the leader call out to the rest of his men, the brute's back was too him and his teal blade was still resting on the bastard's shoulder.

"Uh, boss, what should we do with this body then?

 _"Rise…"_ a dark voice whispered into his ear.

The mountain of a man appeared to think it over for a minute as he glanced at the seemingly lifeless corpse. "Bury him somewhere deep in the forest, he has earned that much if nothing else."

"And these two, where do you want us to keep them?"

 _"Rise up and fight…"_ a menacing, purplish glow began to surround his body.

"Send the man into one of our cells. The girl…" He leaned towards Miko with the girl trying to recoil in disgust only to be held still by their captors. The leader smirked. "Send her to my chambers…"

 _"RISE UP, VERDIA DULLAHAN!"_

The compound shook as a column of dark mana shot up into the sky, piercing through several floors to create a large opening in the fortress, allowing the full moon's glow to light the area as the headless body of Verdia stood back up on its own, a full set of armor and a decorative cape manifesting around him while a helmet appeared in a similar fashion around his severed head.

With what appeared to be practiced ease, the newly christened undead stepped forward and leaned down to pick up its missing head. "Ah… that's better." Verdia sighed as his body held its missing part safely under its arm. "Now then, I believe you have something of mine…"

He held out his hand towards the Leader of the Jaken bandits, and the man yelled out in surprise as the teal great sword was telepathically ripped out of his hands, returning to the palm of its true master, and the two men behind him screamed not a moment later as deep wounds appeared across their chests with Verdia appearing between.

Their lives ended just like his, but they wouldn't be coming back.

"What the hell are you?!" the leader demanded, taking a few steps back in fright as the undead turned his red-eyed gaze towards him.

"Oh that's simple…" Verdia surged forward at inhuman speeds, burying his blade up to the hilt in the man's chest, "… I'm the last thing you'll ever going to see." And then he ripped the blade to the side, coating the weapon with a fresh layer of blood.

"Y-you're a m-m-monster…" The Brute trailed off as he fell backwards, dead before he even hit the ground.

"H-he killed the boss!" one of the grunts cried out in fright while the others around him appeared to take that as a source for their rage.

Several of the men yelled out as they abandoned all form of reason to charge at the undead with various weapons ready to strike from all sides.

Verdia merely scoffed as his body tossed his head up into the air, muttering the words to an ancient spell long since lost to mankind. A gigantic, fiery eye, with the Dullahan's head acting as the pupil, appeared above them all. With the all-seeing eye acting as his guide, Verdia slide out of the way of the first bandit's wild swing, used his sword to block another, and used the openings he saw to swing his broad sword in a powerful, full-circle maneuver, inflicting wounds so deep the attackers would be dead in less than a minute.

The undead held out his palm, catching the severed head when it fell with ease.

It was at that moment that the rest of the bandits gathered in the area decided to flee, having seen enough to know none of them would stand any chance against a creature such as him, but Verdia wasn't going to let them get away.

"Souls doomed to suffer for all eternity, I hear your cries for battle, come forth and serve me with undying loyalty, rise my undead army!" With a grand, sweeping gesture, a group of skeletal warriors were summoned within the room, but unbeknownst to the all but the one who performed the spell, a literal _army_ now surrounded the fortress from every angle.

Verdia pointed his sword forward, giving one single command. "Attack!"

Hearing the words, all the undead in the room charged forward while the ones outside prepared to storm the building, ready to slaughter all that had dared to harm their master, and the building was soon filled with the sounds of battle and dying.

Deeming the room to be safe now, Verdia turned towards his friends and took in the looks on their faces. Kyūdō was in complete shock, simply staring at him with eyes as wide as they could possibly be.

 _Yeah, I expected that much,_ the undead thought to himself as he turned to Miko, and felt his dead heart sink at the amount of fear aimed at him.

For her part, the Arch-Priest was desperately trying not to have a panic attack after witnessing such a traumatic series of events in such a short amount of time, but that fear-driven panic heightened when her now undead friend began approaching them, thankfully holstering the giant blade on his back during the short walk. Miko would never tell him this, but Verdia was absolutely _menacing_ as she watched him, almost in slow motion, with the full-moon behind him, casting an eerie glow across his new armor.

When he reached out a hand towards her, presumably to undo her bindings, she instinctively recoiled away from him, and wished she hadn't upon seeing the pain that single act caused him. Miko took a moment to remind herself that this was her friend, and then leaned forward, allowing Verdia to undo her gag first before he untied her.

"Verdia…" she whispered, pain and regret filling her voice as both her hands moved forward to cup the cold cheeks of the man who professed his love for her. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." Tears blurred her vision as she leaned further forward to press her forehead against his severed head, watching as a single drop of liquid slide down his eye and onto her hand.

"Don't be," he whispered, placing a gauntlet-covered palm onto her head, "you're both alive, that's all I could ever ask for."

There, under the light of the moon, surrounded by the screams of the dying, Miko accepted what she had tried to deny way back during the festival for fear of ruining their friendship. It now, and forever would be, her greatest regret never admitting it until this moment.

"Verdia, I love you too." She no longer felt the need to hesitate and leaned forward to capture his chilled lips with hers.

Kyūdō watched the entire exchange in silence, his heart ached having to watch the tragic beauty of the situation, knowing the life those two could have had together was no longer a possibility. The Archer felt his own tears fall to the ground, and when the two eventually separated long enough to free him as well, he pulled them both in for a tearful embrace, promising himself to find someway to reverse this curse.

Even if it took the rest of his life to do so.

* * *

Back in the present, still buried beneath a small fortune's worth of gold and gems, dark energy leaked from miniscule openings before a small hole was formed with a purple explosion, and Verdia rose up, a look of pure fury on his face. Now, without a shadow of doubt, he knew what was causing all of this. He whispered the name of the being that had caused him, and his group, to go through these memory-induced nightmares.

"Vanir…!"

KONOSUBA!

An eerie quiet filled the halls of the Kazuma household – a that name was still being very much debated on. Most of the people were in their respective rooms, packing essential gear and supplies for their planned escape. Clemea and Megumin were some of the few who weren't doing as such, having already prepared their bags the day before.

"This… sucks." The green-haired Warrior mumbled into her cup of tea, the soothing taste doing little to settle her nerves. Her half-lidded eyes, and accompanying bags, displaying just how tired she was.

Megumin silently agreed, though she didn't display any outward signs of that while scrambling up some eggs for her temporary leader. Finishing the batch and placing it in-front of Clemea, receiving a quiet "Thank you" in the process, the young Arch-Wizard began preparing a much larger batch to feed the rest of the group once they came down.

"Hey…" Clemea quietly called out as she played with her food, hesitantly looking up to her friend who gazed back with curiosity, "did… did I make a lot of noise last night?"

The youngest of the two furrowed her brows. "No. Why do you ask?"

"I had a nightmare," she admitted, "only woke up after hearing a loud noise. Wasn't sure if it was me waking myself up, so I thought I'd check with someone in the morning. Guess it wasn't me though."

Megumin bit the corner of her lip as she turned back to the eggs, unsure how to handle the situation she was now in. The conversation could end as it is, Clemea didn't phrase it in a way that was asking for the subject to be further explored, but it wouldn't sit right with the girl if they left it as it was. "Do you… want to talk about it?"

She shook her head in response. "No, I just…" Clemea sighed, lowering her face into both of her hands, allowing the silence to persist until she got her thoughts together. "I've just been having this reoccurring nightmare all week ever since Kazuma disappeared. It sucks, but I'm more bothered by the lack of sleep it's causing than anything."

"You could ask Aqua to stay in your room," Megumin suggested, remembering how the Arch-Priest's passive aura was enough to soothe her in even the worst of times. Although, after thinking about it for a moment, her Holy aura seemed to be much weaker than normal.

"It's a little late for that." Clemea said with the slightest of smirks, a little of her old shelf showing through the veil of depressed, tired, exhaustion. "Unless she agrees to come with us that is."

There was a sudden knock on the door, startling the two as the green-haired Warrior rose from her sitting position. They shared a look, and Clemea slowly made her way towards the door.

"I don't think we were expecting a package," she mumbled, opening the door without checking to see who it was. A fact she immediately came to regret when the professional gaze of Sena greeted her. "I…I… what are you…?" Clemea sputtered as the Prosecutor let herself in, stepping past the girl with the slightest of huffs.

"Believe me, this visit wasn't planned by any means, but a certain incident that recently happened leaves me with little choice right now."

"Incident?" Megumin questioned, leaning out of the kitchen with a blink to punctuate her confusion.

Sena nodded. "Yes, recently, a dungeon that had been cleared out not to far from here has suddenly started spawning… well I don't know how to describe what they are, so I'll just show you." The woman reached into her pouch and pulled out a single piece of paper, holding it out for them to see.

"That's it?" Clemea asked, tilting her head to look at, what appeared to be, an adorable doll.

The Prosecutor sighed, clearly annoyed by how ridiculous the situation appeared. "Unfortunately, yes. Despite their size and appearance, these animated dolls are capable of self-destructing with surprising force. If it were just a few roaming around then we wouldn't be having this discussion at all, however, a large number of these creatures have been seen exiting a dungeon your party recently went through."

Quietly cursing the fact another event was being linked to their group in some way, Clemea braced for the inevitable bad news that was sure to come. "So, what do you want us to do about it?"

"Investigate the situation, obviously." Sena stated as she stored the drawing away, only to immediately look away with reluctance as she said the next set of words. "With the presence of Satou Kazuma specifically requested for this assignment."

Both girls froze at that, panic filling one set of eyes while surprise filled the other.

Megumin was the first to speak up. "Why does Kazuma need to come?"

"Because he is still being investigated for any potential links to the current Demon Lord, and for the purpose of 'safety' we will be accompanied by two guards as well – guards who will report back to their superiors if the person in question does not show up for the quest." Sena's eyes sharpened as she turned to them, silently demanding some kind of response to her statement.

A look was then shared between the other two people in the room, a silent conversation being shared that the Prosecutor couldn't interpret, and then they both turned back with hesitant hope.

"Is there any way-?"

"-this could wait until after I've had my morning coffee?" A new voice unexpectedly chimed in, catching every one's attention in the process. The trio of woman were then stunned as the witnessed the very person they were discussing walk in with a bleary-eyed look, obviously having woken up only a little bit ago.

"K-k-kazuma?!" Megumin stuttered, so overcome with relief she actually dropped the utensil she had been cooking with.

Letting out a big yawn in greeting, Kazuma leaned down to pick up the object before wrapping an arm around the small girl to give her a side hug. "Morning Megumin, I'll help you with breakfast in a second."

The poor girl blushed from the gesture and turned back around to grab another spatula to continue cooking, unable to trust her voice enough to speak at the moment.

"I see you're doing well," Sena stated, letting them know her relief in the form of a gentle smile, "did you hear enough, or should I go over what I told these two?"

Kazuma merely gave her a thumbs up, and that was all she needed to see to know there was nothing to worry about.

"In that case, I will return this afternoon so we may complete the task." With everything back in order, Sena turned and left the building with a little more energy than she had entered with.

"Ok!" Clemea suddenly called out, catching the Adventurer's attention. "When and how did you get back without any of us noticing? We literally had someone watching the door every night, and no one said anything about you returning!"

"Snuck in last night through my window and immediately went to bed, I keep forgetting to lock it."

Whatever tirade she had planned on giving died as soon as his explanation was done. Whether it was because it was good enough, or because she was too tired to really care at this point, he wasn't sure. "Alright, I guess I better go tell everyone the good news." Clemea moved to leave but paused at the hallway before she was out of sight. "It's… good to have you back, Kazuma."

Kazuma watched her leave with a surprised look, not expecting the warm return from someone he thought still despised him. "Heh, good to be back," he muttered with a slight smirk, moving to stand next to the Arch-Wizard to help her out.

After a minute, the teen decided to get her attention by bumping her hip with his own.

"Hey!" Megumin turned to look at him with mock anger, only for that to be washed away as her heart started beating a little harder from the look he was giving her. "What is it?"

"Later tonight, once we're done with this mission, we should… talk… about us."

 _Is he really…?_ The girl felt the air leave her lungs, fully knowing what those words were implying. "Yeah," Megumin agreed, a new sense of joy spreading throughout her body as she recognized the look he was giving her as the same she probably was giving him, "I'd like that."

"Good," focusing back on the task in-front of them, Kazuma had turned away with a newfound shine in his eyes.

Megumin, however, couldn't contain the happiness she was feeling like her Leader was, and decided to express it the only way she could right now.

Rising to her toes, the girl planted a soft kiss upon his cheek and leaned back with a smile, no longer feeling embarrassed by doing such an act.

Kazuma, for his part, only locked up for a moment before calming down, his own smile matching his friend's.

 _Yep… things are looking up for us._

* * *

 **And there we go, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter.  
**

 **Once again I would like to thank everyone who's followed, favorited, reviewed, and read my work, you are all awesome!**

 **Until next time, have a wonderful day!**


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